Fauna and other natural things

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I've been picking them off - they are about an inch long and look sort of like the ones that eat my tomatoes (I have successfully grown tomatoes SO THERE, gardening gods!). But my salads are still disappearing (I planted kale and spinach and apparently the kale is a bit better- the caterpillars apparently feel about kale like my 20 year old son does - they'll eat it if nothing else is around, but the lettuce and spinach go first.

What is neem oil and where can I get it? I heard that about tobacco but we are a tobacco free house...hmmm..

I may try what my sister suggested - dawn dish soap mixed with cayenne pepper and sprayed on them. We shall see. I may try a decoy pot of spinach to lure the caterpillars and some kale for consumption. I also ordered some marigold seeds; we will see if that really works.

I've also heard of using a hot pepper and soap solution. Do you think they are cabbage loopers? You can buy neem oil off Amazon, or any 'big box' store. It is the oil extracted from the neem tree.

[backatit]

I've been picking them off - they are about an inch long and look sort of like the ones that eat my tomatoes (I have successfully grown tomatoes SO THERE, gardening gods!). But my salads are still disappearing (I planted kale and spinach and apparently the kale is a bit better- the caterpillars apparently feel about kale like my 20 year old son does - they'll eat it if nothing else is around, but the lettuce and spinach go first.

What is neem oil and where can I get it? I heard that about tobacco but we are a tobacco free house...hmmm..

I may try what my sister suggested - dawn dish soap mixed with cayenne pepper and sprayed on them. We shall see. I may try a decoy pot of spinach to lure the caterpillars and some kale for consumption. I also ordered some marigold seeds; we will see if that really works.

I've also heard of using a hot pepper and soap solution. Do you think they are cabbage loopers? You can buy neem oil off Amazon, or any 'big box' store. It is the oil extracted from the neem tree.

Eewww, I just looked those up. They look like those, but darker. I think they are fall armyworms, only really dark ones because they're feeding on spinach. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_armyworm
It sounds like their behavior, too; horrid things.

[waterboy]

We had 4 deer stroll by the dining room window at noon the other day. These are supposed to be dawn/dusk animals. It finally prompted me to get that trail camera to see what else wanders by.

[apl68]

We had 4 deer stroll by the dining room window at noon the other day. These are supposed to be dawn/dusk animals. It finally prompted me to get that trail camera to see what else wanders by.

My parents' neighbor, the hermit who lives on their land, has a camera that records the wildlife.  He occasionally shows them pictures of the highlights.  They've seen deer, hogs, turkeys, a bobcat, what might have been a bear, a huge tarantula, etc., all in the woods just a few minutes' walk from the house. 

They also saw, on one occasion, saw a guy in camouflage and carrying a rifle who wasn't supposed to be there.

[Morden]

eek.

[downer]

I have a yard with grass. I have in the past used a lawn service. I have seen some lawn services working but I'm pretty sure that it is not really an essential service. I also like the idea of a wild yard that does not require a lawn service.

So maybe this is the time for me to convert my yard from grass to something else.

Does anyone have any experience of this?

[namazu]

Does anyone have any experience of this?

Yes, though mostly inadvertent.  ;)

What region, or what kind of climate do you live in?  And what kind of neighborhood / area do you live in, and are there restrictions on what your yard can look like?  These will help determine your best options.

There are some "no-mow lawn" mixes that use low-growing grasses and sedges for a lawn-replacement look; there are xeriscaping plans for places that get little rainfall; if you have space and climate and interest you can grow a wildflower meadow or a vegetable garden, etc.

[clean]

"maintenance" is often a necessary function, and it could be argued that lawn care is maintenance.

Your community may not agree, though.

[mamselle]

...xeriscaping plans for places that get little rainfall;

I had to look this up.

I was also thinking, "I've seen some cool gardens with colored stones and glass pebbles and cacti and stuff...."

...and lo and behold, there's a name for it!

There's also a lovely prayer garden here:

   https://www.mfa.org/collections/featured-galleries/japanese-garden-tenshin-en

If you were to create something like that with a traditional arrangement by a skilled landscaper, the occasional raking with a wooden pegged rake might be quite contemplative, as opposed to the noisy, gassy-smelling lawnmowers most people are owned by.

M. 

[Blackadder]

Coyote howling at night near our condo is creepy. No dogs and we are on the second floor but I still get chills when I hear it.

[downer]

Does anyone have any experience of this?

Yes, though mostly inadvertent.  ;)

What region, or what kind of climate do you live in?  And what kind of neighborhood / area do you live in, and are there restrictions on what your yard can look like?  These will help determine your best options.

There are some "no-mow lawn" mixes that use low-growing grasses and sedges for a lawn-replacement look; there are xeriscaping plans for places that get little rainfall; if you have space and climate and interest you can grow a wildflower meadow or a vegetable garden, etc.

Thanks.

I'm in the north east US. Hardiness Zone 7.

There are definitely rules about overgrown lawns in my area. I'm not sure if that is just for what is visible from the street or whether it also applies to back yards too.

I have about half an acre, so I can't fill that with a veg garden. I am planning on a small garden.

I'm hoping to make this low cost -- or at least no more than it costs to pay my landscaper for a summer.

[mamselle]

Make a .moss-and rock garden in several areas.

Fill in with grass where you must.

M.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Make a .moss-and rock garden in several areas.

Fill in with grass where you must.

M.

Moss lawns are stunning! If you have a lot of shade, then it should work well for you. That actually gives me an idea on what to do with a path I have. It's loose river rock and has tons of weeds in it. Flagstone with moss in between sounds nice.

[backatit]

I have a yard with grass. I have in the past used a lawn service. I have seen some lawn services working but I'm pretty sure that it is not really an essential service. I also like the idea of a wild yard that does not require a lawn service.

So maybe this is the time for me to convert my yard from grass to something else.

Does anyone have any experience of this?

Actually, yes, although not in your climate. When I lived beachside in Florida I xeriscaped our yard because it was too much hassle to grow grass. I did it gradually over a period of about 10 years (we lived there for a fair amount of time till hurricanes in 2008 drove us inland). I made rock borders, tore up the grass within them, and planted native plants in those areas (I laid gardening cloth first, but it was mostly useless against the weeds although I did use rocks on top). It was a constant battle for a long time to distinguish weeds from "native plants" until the plants got established and big enough, but after then it looked more "on purpose" than "this person is just a lazy gardener"

Our property now is kind of that way as well - we have woods that we brush hog about once a year to fix the fence, but otherwise it's kind of overgrown, but that's more inadvertent.

[ab_grp]

Well, I just had my first rattlesnake sighting out here.  We were sitting on the back patio, when spouse said WTF is that! It was a rattlesnake (surprise!), right by the patio.  I hadn't even noticed it! He shot at it a few times with an air rifle and the thing did not even flinch at the very close misses.  He did manage to wing it, and it slithered off to the other side of the patio.  He then tried to smack it with a shovel as it made its way into the rosemary, but it started rattling and this is not the time for hospital visits.  Ack, it's gone now and will likely be back.  I periodically go through paranoia-driven checks of the patio, under the furniture, etc. when it gets warmer, but now I don't even want to go out there.