[geo in mi]

Racoons and groundhogs are very territorial. Racoons claim rights to about 35--40 acres, while hogs (ground) don't stray much from their major food source--your garden. If you can eliminate the main inhabitant early, it will be the next season before another one comes along to claim it as his--usually-a dominant male groundhog, and hers for the other furry creature, along with her litter of five to six little eater/destroyers. For me, a little youth Marlin Papoose with a red dot sight, loaded with CCI .22LR MiniMags is just the ticket. (and a cage trap baited with marshmellows) It's lightweight, breaks down and fits into a briefcase to meet Michigan transport laws. Even though there is a hunting season for rabbits and racoons, you can shoot them on your property as vermin. I always toss a couple of beer cans at the far edge of the garden, just to say, "Honestly. officer, I was just target practicing and that critter came between the bullet and target just as I shot."

But rifles are an addiction for me. I thought 22 was the number of rifles I should buy just to get a good one.

If I had snakes, I would get the Springfield survival gun, an over under .22/410 combination--I need an excuse, maybe. For big hogs.... maybe a .410 slug? You're on your own.

geo

 

[Vjk]

Congratulation Dan,
A few things. A feline or 2 can go a long way to deal with rodent/lizard problems. A yapper will take care of small animals, a Dane mix will keep deer away. A Spaniel will take care of all kinds of animals.
I presume you have a 4wd and a trailer by now, so put an ad on Marketplace that you will remove any old non-working hot tubs. They are the greatest thing for victory gardens since dirt. Fill with rocks, and hugelkultur fill. A nice layer of garden soil and you have a nice elevated bed that is easy to take care of, pretty weed free, difficult for pests to get in etc etc etc. One hot tub should provide a years worth of tomatos, peppers, summer squashes, peas, and some carrots. As an aside, you can put an old bathtub next to it for your tot to garden.

 

[danielkleach]

Congratulation Dan,
A few things. A feline or 2 can go a long way to deal with rodent/lizard problems. A yapper will take care of small animals, a Dane mix will keep deer away. A Spaniel will take care of all kinds of animals.
I presume you have a 4wd and a trailer by now, so put an ad on Marketplace that you will remove any old non-working hot tubs. They are the greatest thing for victory gardens since dirt. Fill with rocks, and hugelkultur fill. A nice layer of garden soil and you have a nice elevated bed that is easy to take care of, pretty weed free, difficult for pests to get in etc etc etc. One hot tub should provide a years worth of tomatos, peppers, summer squashes, peas, and some carrots. As an aside, you can put an old bathtub next to it for your tot to garden.

I have three cats and one golden retriever. The cats have been indoors only since I got them, and the dog is outside while we are, or if she needs to do her business. I like the idea of letting the cats come and go outside for taking care of rodents, but I'm worried they will end up running off somewhere or getting attacked by wildlife. Two of the cats are actually one of the only things I have left from my mom that passed away last year.

 

[danielkleach]

Racoons and groundhogs are very territorial. Racoons claim rights to about 35--40 acres, while hogs (ground) don't stray much from their major food source--your garden. If you can eliminate the main inhabitant early, it will be the next season before another one comes along to claim it as his--usually-a dominant male groundhog, and hers for the other furry creature, along with her litter of five to six little eater/destroyers. For me, a little youth Marlin Papoose with a red dot sight, loaded with CCI .22LR MiniMags is just the ticket. (and a cage trap baited with marshmellows) It's lightweight, breaks down and fits into a briefcase to meet Michigan transport laws. Even though there is a hunting season for rabbits and racoons, you can shoot them on your property as vermin. I always toss a couple of beer cans at the far edge of the garden, just to say, "Honestly. officer, I was just target practicing and that critter came between the bullet and target just as I shot."

But rifles are an addiction for me. I thought 22 was the number of rifles I should buy just to get a good one.

If I had snakes, I would get the Springfield survival gun, an over under .22/410 combination--I need an excuse, maybe. For big hogs.... maybe a .410 slug? You're on your own.

geo

Guns are something I have no experience with. But, I plan to get a few after learning how to use them (gun range, classes, etc).

 

[danielkleach]

Looks like sand to me also. Unfortunately, sand is very difficult to garden. Rain and nutrients just go straight through it. If you can find some red clay on the place... I'd probably garden there...

I like to grow food in the winter...
stuff like rutabaga, turnip, carrot, kale,snow peas and fava beans.

While the peas and beans don't set pods during the frosty weather... they usually get large enough to produce a decent harvest in the spring.

Personally, rather than worrying about mowing and tarping... I would try to locate a source of horse poop... and a source of free woodchips.
Most stables will allow us to back our pickup truck to the horse poop pile and load it... if we ask nice.
Most tree surgeons have a chipper, and will deliver to us if they are working nearby.
When I was first out here in the sand... I brought out pickup loads of manure right into the future garden and emptied the truck.

I linked a soil map of my property in the initial post. The location of the existing garden is in the "Tifton loamy sand" area. I read up on that type of soil type, and it sounds like it would be great for certain vegetables, but not all. I think I may actually be using raised beds for now anyways.

 

[Danaus29]

In my experience, outdoor cats are good only for clearing out rabbits. We had barn cats on the farm which did keep the barn rodent population in check. But that's a lot different than having a free range cat trying to control free range mice.

My neighbor's dog hates moles and will dig to China trying to catch one. There are dogs all around me but none of them go after the multitude of raccoons here. Nothing catches the stupid squirrels, not even the hawks that are supposed to eat the rodents.

I've got a couple destructive squirrels running around here now. Crock pot squirrel and dressing (not stuffing) sounds pretty good.

 

[geo in mi]

In my experience, outdoor cats are good only for clearing out rabbits. We had barn cats on the farm which did keep the barn rodent population in check. But that's a lot different than having a free range cat trying to control free range mice.

My neighbor's dog hates moles and will dig to China trying to catch one. There are dogs all around me but none of them go after the multitude of raccoons here. Nothing catches the stupid squirrels, not even the hawks that are supposed to eat the rodents.

I've got a couple destructive squirrels running around here now. Crock pot squirrel and dressing (not stuffing) sounds pretty good.

WDKK was only good at keeping the shrubs at the back step well fertilized. WDDKK ? World's Dumbest Kitty Kat

And, how do you stuff an undressed squirrel?



geo

 

[geo in mi]

Just a couple of garden tips:

I heartily recommend, "The Resilient Gardener", by Carol Deppe. She writes about her experience of raising staple foods of corn (not sweet), beans, (nor just green, but dry as well), squash, potatos, and ducks. Mostly by hand.

To use making straight rows: masonry twine. Doesn't sag, even after rain. Draws tight, doesn't bow in the wind. But be sure to collect it; leave none laying around, as well as other plastic: baling twine, plastic woven electric fencing. Those will quickly foul a lawnmower or tiller spindle.

geo

 

[GTX63]

I linked a soil map of my property in the initial post. The location of the existing garden is in the "Tifton loamy sand" area. I read up on that type of soil type, and it sounds like it would be great for certain vegetables, but not all. I think I may actually be using raised beds for now anyways.

Yes the soil in your hand appears to be a sandy loam. Excellent drainage and can work for just about anything if you add nutrients.
My wife also has a couple of housecats she inherited. They are worthless for mice. I however, always have a couple of cats that live in the garage for rodent security. I currently have two males, but females are supposedly better mousers.

One of the hardest parts of moving onto a large undeveloped homestead is the constant urging to get everything done, up and running right away. If I bought a new house in a suburb, I'd expect to do nothing for than light maintenance and looking for the tv remote. The majority of homes are landing pads. On a homestead, there is a lifelong list of items we need, and projects, chores and repairs we need to get done.
.

 

[st0n3]

I think I may actually be using raised beds for now anyways.

Raised beds on top of fast draining sand???
Raised beds in clay... make sense... but in sand? Not so much.

In my experience, outdoor cats are good only for clearing out rabbits. We had barn cats on the farm which did keep the barn rodent population in check.

I've got a couple destructive squirrels running around here now.

My cats catch everything... Including squirrel.
I always enjoy seeing them eating a rabbit in the early morning...
They catch rats and mice fine... they catch moles and voles too... but usually don't eat those.

My cats love venison when I bring home a nice roadkill...

Back to fruit trees...
I have fig trees, paw paw, persimmon, hardy orange and Ichang lemon.
The fig trees are dwarfed by the root knot nematodes...

The possums and raccoons usually get the persimmons and pawpaws before I can... I get a few hardy oranges... The Ichang lemon trees aren't producing fruit (at my house) yet.... Although the parent tree in town produces tons of fruit. Lemons the size of softballs!

 

[Danaus29]

And, how do you stuff an undressed squirrel?

You can't stuff them. That's why you have to dress them.

But seriously, cook the squirrel until tender, debone and chop the meat, put the meat and some cooking broth into a pot adding as much water as needed in the directions for boxed stuffing mix, add a couple tablespoons of bacon grease or butter. Then follow the instructions on the box of stuffing. It's better with 1/4 pound chopped mushrooms and a handful of finely chopped onion and a minced clove of garlic. I prefer to fry to onion, mushroom and garlic until tender, with some bacon grease in the pot before adding the meat and broth.

 

[Orchardsmith]

I linked a soil map of my property in the initial post. The location of the existing garden is in the "Tifton loamy sand" area. I read up on that type of soil type, and it sounds like it would be great for certain vegetables, but not all. I think I may actually be using raised beds for now anyways.

Ah, Tifton loamy sand. Sand means you have good drainage, sometimes too good. I gardened for a while 26 miles inland from Beaufort, SC. Loamy sand. Believe me, you could do much worse. Add organic matter to your soil as rapidly as possible.The organic matter will slow down leaching and hold water better to reduce erosion. Rotted manure, yard clippings, etc. can be added as you have them. The more you add the better your soil will be. Keep some rotted manure on hand for making manure tea to use when side dressing vegetables. Your soil is heavy on the sand side, so plan to water and add plant food as needed. Set up some rain barrels (covered to prevent mosquito multiplication) to have water on hand year round. Get a couple of good rain gauges and a min-max thermometer and set up a proper weather station cover. Determine how you will cultivate in ground that cultivates easily. You're in the Southeast, so weeds will sprout easily and often. Always attack weeds when they're small. Big weeds are a nightmare. Prepare your cultivation strategy first, then do some thinking about what to plant, and when. Timing is crucial. There are two growing seasons there, February-June and September-December, as I recall. Verify that. Take the time to drive around and find some veteran gardeners to observe and ask questions. Observe first. Maybe ask questions later. Locate the garden centers with smart people behind the counter (not every one is like that). I had good luck with sweet potatoes, onions, green beans, purple hull peas, kale, etc. Plan for what you will actually eat, not what others grow. If you want to have raised beds, go ahead, but to my way of thinking that makes cultivation more difficult, not easier. There's no problem with having raised beds on well-drained ground. Raised beds make for small, intensive plots. I never found that raised beds were worth the trouble for the scale on which I wanted to operate. Others see it differently. Any place you garden will have to be fenced with woven wire up to at least 8', IMHO. If you aren't going to keep the vermin out of it, don't bother to start in the first place. Look for a decent Ruger 10-22 and learn how to use it. If you can keep your head about you, there are few things that the right round in that rifle won't handle, and no things that half a dozen of the right rounds in that rifle won't handle. You don't need an arsenal, just something that works the way you need it to.

 

[Orchardsmith]

And you have lemons already! Very cool! Do you like marmalade? Can this variety be used for marmalade? Look to your assets and build on them.

 

[B. White]

There are a lot of posts about fence for a garden. Here is my experience. I didn't have a fence my first year on our new place I didn't have too much damage in the spring, but the fall garden was mowed down in a couple of days, except for turnips and radishes. I have pear trees and they would cut across the garden from the woods going to and from the pears. To give you an idea of how many are around, the first pic was 75 yds from the pears at one end where I didn't even have anything planted.

Most everything written or on video says you need a very tall fence, or a 3d electric fence. I didn't want to run wire and was looking at solar, but it was expensive and everything I saw that was wired looked like it put out more juice at a lot lower price. I decided to try the basic setup of a 3d fence with a wire knee high, rear high and shoulder high and used gate handles in a few places so I could have quick and easy access to get the tractor in as needed. I was going to add the outer 18" high strand later, if needed. Used the charger in the pic and I think 17ga aluminum wire. I added an extra post near the house on one corner and cut a 4ft wide piece of cattle panel and attached with fence staples as hinges to use as a walk through gate.

I turned it on a couple of months before the spring garden to see what reaction I got. The next morning I had a strand broken and took pliers and twisted it back. About a month later I had another place stretched where something hit it running. Bottom strand, so may have been a coyote or dog. Tightened it back and since then I will have to do a 2 min fix every couple of months that I figure is when a new critter comes around or one is being chased. I was surprised how much the wire will usually just stretch and not break. My 100 lb dog tested it twice early and won't get within 20 yds of it now. I watch the deer eat pears mornings and evenings in the fall, but the have learned to respect the wire and stay a couple of feet away from it.

The last pic was when the crimson clover was just starting to come up and you can see uneaten pears on the ground that have rolled down the hill under the fence. I hunted about 250 yds away opening morning of gun season and saw 13 deer in about 2 hrs, so they haven't moved out of town.

The funniest thing to me is how many folks still tell me it won't work. I guess they are right, since I have had the breaches mentioned above every couple of months, but I can live with that as long as I have no crop damage. I can still add the additional outside strand 18" high that every says is needed, but it isn't worth the hassle right now.

 

[B. White]

Racoons and groundhogs are very territorial. Racoons claim rights to about 35--40 acres, while hogs (ground) don't stray much from their major food source--your garden. If you can eliminate the main inhabitant early, it will be the next season before another one comes along to claim it as his--usually-a dominant male groundhog, and hers for the other furry creature, along with her litter of five to six little eater/destroyers. For me, a little youth Marlin Papoose with a red dot sight, loaded with CCI .22LR MiniMags is just the ticket. (and a cage trap baited with marshmellows) It's lightweight, breaks down and fits into a briefcase to meet Michigan transport laws. Even though there is a hunting season for rabbits and racoons, you can shoot them on your property as vermin. I always toss a couple of beer cans at the far edge of the garden, just to say, "Honestly. officer, I was just target practicing and that critter came between the bullet and target just as I shot."

But rifles are an addiction for me. I thought 22 was the number of rifles I should buy just to get a good one.

If I had snakes, I would get the Springfield survival gun, an over under .22/410 combination--I need an excuse, maybe. For big hogs.... maybe a .410 slug? You're on your own.

geo

I added some thermal and NV equipment to slow down any nocturnal diggers, like armadillos.

 

[Orchardsmith]

I started with the identical electric fence setup some years back where there was lots of deer pressure. Three wires the same heights as yours. I built it right and kept it clean. First year was very good. Second year there were problems that developed here and there, which I kept vigilant about. Third year the deer held off until potatoes and tomatoes were at their peaks, then devastated things. They just began going through the wire. The fourth year I built the woven wire fence using two strands of 47" lightweight wire. Over the next five years I had a deer challenge it once, but he didn't get in. I never had another problem. I had to brace the wood posts, especially at the corners. Between wood posts along the lines I put 8' T-posts to further stabilize. There's a #11 wire along the top to clip the top of the top strand. I just built a new fence at my latest homestead. It's 8' tall and built the same way. I truly wish everyone well with whatever fence system works for you. Eight foot woven wire is what works for me.

 

[Danaus29]

My neighbor kept deer out of her garden with 3 strands of hot wire. A friend of mine has 5 strands, the double fence and a dog. Deer still get into the buffet. I think in a lot of cases you have to find what works through trial and error. If I can find the $$$ and time for it, I may put some orange construction fence around the big garden next year.

 

[Nimrod]

Guns are something I have no experience with. But, I plan to get a few after learning how to use them (gun range, classes, etc).

Most states require a gun safety class in order to get a hunting license. These are good basic classes even if you don't plan to hunt. In MN it costs about $10. The majority of students are 11 and 12 year olds but I have had a 70 year old grandma take the class. The class includes a bit of live fire. After taking the class you can try out friends guns or find a gun store with an attached range that will let you try out guns. You can ask any questions here on the gun forum.

I believe this gun safety class should be taught in school to every 11 year old. Then we wouldn't have so many people terrified of guns.

 

[st0n3]

Ah, Tifton loamy sand. Sand means you have good drainage, sometimes too good.

Plan for what you will actually eat, not what others grow.

If you want to have raised beds, go ahead, but to my way of thinking that makes cultivation more difficult, not easier.

There's no problem with having raised beds on well-drained ground.

I never found that raised beds were worth the trouble for the scale on which I wanted to operate.

I wouldn' t want to be required to put that much water on those raised beds on top of sand...
I tried "lowered beds" in the sand once in my attempts to reduce the amount of water required...
Seemed like a good idea... but didn't work out at my house.

As danielkleach gets experience with our dry periods, I trust that my warnings against raised beds on top of fast draining sand will make more sense.

Ditto regarding plant what ya'll eat... But... at the same time... It's hard to go wrong with a nice winter cover crop of turnips / rutabagas... What don't get ate... gets turned under in the spring as green manure.

 

[danielkleach]

I wouldn' t want to be required to put that much water on those raised beds on top of sand...
I tried "lowered beds" in the sand once in my attempts to reduce the amount of water required...
Seemed like a good idea... but didn't work out at my house.

As danielkleach gets experience with our dry periods, I trust that my warnings against raised beds on top of fast draining sand will make more sense.

Ditto regarding plant what ya'll eat... But... at the same time... It's hard to go wrong with a nice winter cover crop of turnips / rutabagas... What don't get ate... gets turned under in the spring as green manure.

I am going to skip the raised beds, per y'alls advice. I will amend the dirt, after clearing out the weeds. I will also be setting up irrigation lines as well. The plan is to set up a rainwater harvesting system to feed it, rather than run them off of the well, but we'll see.