Thread: Pea strategies
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Old February 9, 2012   #18
janezee
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5
Posts: 931
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So far, for me, the bunnies have been more interested in my clover lawn than my garden. I spray the wood of my raised beds with my own mixture. I take a habanero or two, some cloves of garlic, a really big piece of ginger, and put them in the blender/processor with white vinegar. Pulverize it, let it sit overnight or longer, but not until it gets moldy, and strain though a coffee filter into your sprayer.
If you need it stronger, say, on your plants, use water instead of vinegar. I've not used it that way, because just spraying the wood works for me. The slugs don't like it, either. Or the cats, dogs, deer, and who knows what else is out there?

For the birds, I use mylar streamers from the party store. It comes in a large roll that lasts forever. Maybe 500 feet?
I tie it to the top of my 8 foot fence posts in 6 foot lengths. The slightest breeze moves it, and the birds are very unhappy with that.

I fed 24 quail daily during the first winter I spent on Cape Cod. I loved to watch them scurry out of the woods, eat, and disappear. In March, when my peas, a few hundred feet away, came up, they'd get 2-3" tall, then they'd be 1/2" tall. Then, they'd get 2-3" tall, then they'd be 1/2" tall. And again!
Those lovely quail got tired of dried seeds, just like I did, and I had to cover the peas for a couple of weeks, until they were no longer on little bird brains. lol
I got plenty of peas, and a lesson in country living.
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