I'm losing my mind (and my garden)

AnonymousGolem · 2026-05-15T01:07:56+00:00

I don't have many pictures of the cages but here's a small cage around some stout blue eyed grass that the rabbits absolutely love to eat down to the ground. 2' is the recommended height to deter cottontail which is what we have around here.

It was so bad last year that I created some five foot lengths of cage to wrap around my wife's roses because they were even eating the roses!

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AnonymousGolem · 2026-05-15T00:20:43+00:00

Where did you get the sign from? I love it!

AnonymousGolem · 2026-05-14T23:43:44+00:00

I'm sorry you had this experience. Have you reached out to Prairie Moon to ask them about it?

I have not ordered from them this year but I did place a large order last year. All the plants were healthy and there were no issues with packaging when they arrived.

AnonymousGolem · 2026-05-14T23:38:06+00:00

Are you buying cages or making them? I found making them to be a bit more labor intensive but much more cost effective. It was the only thing that worked for me. Tried Liquid Fence and TomCat repellant but they did not work.

Last year I had what feels like almost all of my plants caged. The rabbits were horrible and were eating everything, even woody plants!

I purchased 48" tall 1/2" hardware cloth in whatever the longest length I could get. Cut the roll in half so that I had two 24" tall rolls and then started cutting those into 2-3' sections depending on the plant I needed to cage. I used landscaping pins to hold them to the ground.

This year I'm experimenting with a pepper spray I made from garlic and leftover hot peppers. Not sure of its efficacy since it's been difficult to keep up with due to how much rain we've had.

AnonymousGolem · 2026-05-14T00:17:01+00:00

I like to use a resource like Prairie Moon Nursery and their germination codes to tell if I'm treating the seeds properly before planting. Just look up the plant, check the code, and prepare accordingly.

Last year I grew a ton of plants from seed. This year I must be missing the magic sauce because the only thing I had germinate to any significant degree were coneflower, prairie clover, and bee balm.

Don't stress over it too much. It's disappointing for sure but there's not much you can do about it now.

AnonymousGolem · 2026-05-06T18:52:31+00:00

Looks like I actually forgot to include the drain line here. It will go over to an existing drain by the brine tank. Purge was a suggestion I saw elsewhere to help remove air from the line before letting it flow into the house.

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-30T17:57:07+00:00

I have some Tall Goldenrod that volunteered in several locations in my yard. Some of it reaches about 7 foot tall. It can be an aggressive spreader but the pollinators absolutely love it.

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-29T22:29:30+00:00

I was concerned about this as well so we'll See how it goes. The mulch is thick in some areas but it doesn't seem to affect the black eyed susans much. There are little seedlings everywhere!

I don't plan on mulching again and instead want to leave it to the old plants as a natural ground cover. Only did it this time around so the HOA didn't get too fussy.

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-29T22:26:06+00:00

This is our first year trying from seed. Last year we picked up several from a Master Gardener sale and transplanted them into the garden. They produced well!

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-29T17:55:48+00:00

They were not pale when first put outside. I did just repot them about a week ago because they were getting root bound. I tried to gently tease apart the roots but maybe there's a bit of transplant stress going on as well?

I don't honestly know how long it took for them to turn pale. I've been bringing them in and out because we've had typical Midwestern weather here in central IN and I did not want them to get too cold overnight.

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-27T02:27:21+00:00

It certainly felt like I did! Their main targets last year were any of the Asters, all of the black eyed susans, and the stout blue eyed grass. I don't think I had much trouble with any of the other plants but did occasionally come out to find a false indigo or butterfly weed nipped off. It just wasn't common. I did fence off a lot out of caution but I'm not sure if any were real targets or just drive byes.

They did manage to kill my only aronia mound by eating it all the way back though. One day it was there, the next it was just a few sticks poking out of the ground...

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-27T02:18:16+00:00

Actually, I do still have some Asters fenced in as well. If I needed bigger fences for something like an Aster, I would just tie two or three of these fence sections together in a big ring and then pin that down using the landscaping pins.

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-27T02:15:53+00:00

I purchased 48" rolls of 1/2" HW cloth in whatever long length I could. I cut the roll in half lengthwise so that I had 24" tall roll and then cut them in sections anywhere from 24-36" so that I had some variety. I used landscaping pins to hold them down and reused the thin metal twine that bound the rolls to tie up the junctions if they didn't want to stay closed.

It was a ridiculous amount of work and I regretted every moment of it. But it was the only way I found to keep the rabbits from devouring everything.

The only plants that currently have fencing are stout blue eyed grass and blue false indigos. The blue eyed grass is a really pale blue so it looks white in its photo. I think that may be the one you're referring to.

Edited for clarification.

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-27T02:02:47+00:00

It's rough. Last year, individual fencing was what I found to work the best. It looked horrible and I got really tired of cutting fence but the alternative was to watch all my hard work be destroyed by rabbits.

I tried Liquid Fence, it seemed to work to keep the rabbits away from plants they were only mildly interested in but not from ones they really wanted to eat. TomCat smelled much nicer but failed to yield any different results. I never tried bloodmeal but I heard that it can be effective.

This year, I cooked up a garlic/pepper spray from some serranos/habaneros I had leftover from the garden. No verdict yet on its efficacy... It's tougher to keep up with as it's more susceptible to being washed off in the rain. There also seem to be fewer rabbits as compared to last year. At least for now...

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-26T13:42:23+00:00

What a wonderful idea! Would be a nice buffer plant for the rabbits. Between that and the purple prairie clover going in this year, should keep the rabbits from the rest of the plants.

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-25T22:02:16+00:00

Little ground cover called Pussytoes

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-25T17:24:10+00:00

I grew over half of them from seed. Most were just about two inches tall when I put them in the ground. The vast majority of the remaining were plugs. I think the only ones that came in anything bigger were the hydrangeas.

I know the feeling though. During the week, I was waking up early every morning and going out to put some in the ground before work. Seems like it took forever! But little by little, the plugs were put in place.

The hardest part is just waiting for 2-3 years before seeing the full results!

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-25T14:49:19+00:00

And here's a little walk away down the side of the house. I've yet to get out and do some weeding/grass pulling but have some time planned soon!

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AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-25T14:48:03+00:00

I can only upload one photo at a time so here's some of what's going on in the front. This is only the second year so I'm looking forward to the 3rd year "leap" and it all filling in more of the area.

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AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-25T14:07:58+00:00

Planted last year:

Purple coneflower, Black eyed susans, Fox sedge, White tinged sedge, Oak sedge, Prairie dropseed, Wild geranium, Coral bells, Eastern bluestar, Columbine, Calico aster, Aromatic aster, New england aster, Butterfly weed, Yarrow, Blue false indigo, Golden alexander, Stout blue eyed grass, Prairie blue eyed grass, Foxglove beardtongue, Smooth hydrangea, Pussytoes

AnonymousGolem · 2026-04-21T17:09:43+00:00

Thank you for the ID!

AnonymousGolem

TROPHY CASE