Crop loss is part of the gardening experience, whether that is bunnies, hail or harvesting by the public.
At Urban Bounty, we want to put the emphasis on the fact that gardening, and gardening in a community garden, is about so much more than just the produce you get at the end. Of course, harvesting the fruit of your labour is much more satisfying than just going to the grocery store (and also a lot more rewarding!), but we want to remind you that gardening is also about the journey. Getting your hands in the soil, learning more about how food is grown, connecting with your community, learning from fellow gardeners, improving your health by connecting to nature, sharing recipes and ways to use your produce is what gardening in a Community Garden is all about! And… you might get some veggies out of it!
That being said, we still understand the feeling of frustration when you have taken so much time to raise a little seedling, only to see it get eaten by a bunny.
Here are some of the things you can expect to encounter in your garden and our suggestions on how to work with some of these factors!
Rabbits and Rats:
- Include plants they don’t like. There are some that rabbits and rats don’t like because of their strong scents such as basil, garlic, rhubarb, hot peppers, spicy basil, and mint. Some gardeners say that marigolds keep rabbits out of their gardens, while others say rabbits actually like the marigolds they planted. Try it out and let us know if it works for you!
- Add visual deterrents. Though some gardeners say placing things in your garden to scare rabbits and rats away won’t work, others swear by their success. Here are some to try: Metal pinwheels (their movement, shininess, and even sound can scare them off); rubber snakes; and owl statues. If you do try these deterrents, we recommend moving them around your garden frequently to prevent the animals from getting used to seeing them in the same spot.
- Create your own spray. There are lots of homemade spray recipes available online, and many of them include cayenne pepper, as rabbits dislike the pungent smell. Here’s one recipe to try:
- Mix 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of pure-castile liquid soap, and five cups of water.
- Pour into a spray bottle and shake to combine the ingredients.
- Spray plants rabbits and rats usually nibble on.
- Reminder – Do not use any type of pesticides!
Slugs/Snails
- Use Water and Garlic
- Boil two full bulbs of garlic in a saucepan of water.
- Squash the bulbs down to get as much of the garlic juice out as you can.
- Pour the moisture through a sieve and dilute it to spray or water your plants using two tablespoons in 5 litres of water.
- Ideally, use it once a week and after rainfall.
- Eggshells, Coffee Grounds and Mulch
- A well-known way to deter snails and slugs is to use broken eggshells, coffee grounds and rough mulch. Crushed eggshells and mulch are an annoyance to slugs, and they don’t slide over them well at all, so they tend to turn around and slide away! Both the smell and texture of coffee grounds are meant to do precisely the same thing.
- Copper Rings and Tape
- For newly planted seedlings or young plants, especially, copper rings placed around the base of the plant are a great way to keep slugs away. If you are growing in pots and containers, using copper tape around the pot will help to deter them from coming up the pot and eating your plants.
Drought
- Check out these documents that we created with waterwise gardening and tips:
Disease
- Here is a great article of 10 common plant diseases and how to treat them – https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/most-common-plant-diseases/
Harvesting by the Public
- Harvesting by the public will unfortunately happen. All of the community garden sites Urban Bounty manages are on public land provided to us by the City of Richmond and are not private property / owned by the individual gardener. This is why Urban Bounty and the City of Richmond do not allow locks on fences as community gardens are open to the public and staff need to access all areas in case of emergency. Also, under no circumstances do we support our gardeners engaging with a member of the public that might be harvesting from community garden plots. Please do not engage with them and fill out our form below instead!
WHAT TO DO IF YOU EXPERIENCE LOSS
If you experience crop or equipment loss, or even damage in the community garden plot that you would like to report, please fill out the form below rather than emailing us as this allows us to better keep track of reports.
Still have questions or concerns? Need help or suggestions in the garden? Please fill out our Community Gardens Contact Form and we will do our best to help – https://www.urbanbounty.ca/community-gardens-contact-us/
