Part Two --

I had just discovered this site, so I came here looking for help. I've gotten a lot of great advice in the From Seed forum, but I still have questions and now that I've found this forum, I'm thinking there may be more of you here with MF experience. I still have to cover that fence and I haven't given up yet on my dream of seeing it covered with MF's.

Using their advice, I've sprinkled the ground with crushed red pepper and cayenne and I'm thinking that has helped, but the packaged animal repellent I put down the first night did absolutely nothing. It's also been recommended that I make a spray solution of soapy water/red pepper. (That's one of the things I have questions about.)

Since the rascals that ruined my first planting have seemed to leave the larger plants pretty much alone, I've decided to let my second batch of seedlings get really large before I plant them. I'd love to wait until they have one or two sets of true leaves, but I'm afraid I'll do something wrong if I keep them in the Jiffy tray much longer: overwater, under water, etc.

They're currently about 10-11" tall and the cotyledons are totally out of the seedcoats. I can see the tiny starts of the true leaves, but there are still no real leaves showing. I called Burpee and they said the true leaves are poisonous, but the cotyledons aren't. Wild, eh? No wonder they aren't eating the larger plants now.

I also got a book by Burpee from the library and it says I can plant the seedlings a little deeper than I had done the first time, with maybe 1/3 of the stem below the surface, so I'll incorporate that into my planting this second time.

My main question: I've found two recipes on here for homemade spray solutions to deter nibblers. Wouldn't brand new seedlings be too tender to spray them with a soap/pepper spray? While they're brand new is when they need the protection most, but I'm afraid their leaves are too new to handle something like that.

I had planned to make a long tent for them out of netting, but when I went out to do that this morning, it was way too labor intensive, so I abandoned that and just got the bed ready again. I want to plant them this evening, when it gets cooler, or first thing tomorrow morning.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, but even if there are no responses -- if you read this this far, that's wonderful. Thank you.

By the way, I found some great ideas here for further enhancing my fence project. I'm going to add a lot of other plants now. Someone had already suggested that I also add some Morning Glories to have daytime color there, too.

i just wanted to let you know that i read your entire post (both of them). fotunately, i've been lucky with no animals bothering my plants. i'm sure some other people will have some good ideas, though. also, maybe you could contact a local cooperative extension? i think this is the main site for georgia:
http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/

you can search on this page for "statewide offices" --- to find one local to you.

good luck --- and sorry to read about yer problem animals. i can only imagine how frustrating that must have been, especially since you seem to have such a clear idea for this project.

you're doing this in preparation to sell your home? seems like such a shame to go through such frustration, only to sell it. i hope the new owners will appreciate it!

good luck!
--robbie--

robbie -- thanks for your response. I've got my local extension service programmed into my cell phone, even! LOL Unfortunately, I seem to know more than most of them, most of the times I call. Not that they aren't knowledgeable, I just usually look everything up as much as I can before I call and they look things up while I'm on the phone. Still, they're great for a lot of the native flora/fauna questions.

I really appreciate the fact that you read through all that. I know I can be wordy.

I posted in the From Seed forum again this morning, hoping to get advice from someone else's experience with brand new plants. They had recommended that I spray them, but I am seriously worried that they might be especially vulnerable right after they're planted, they're so young, etc. Maybe by the time they are all in the ground and it's time to actually do the deed, I'll have another response either here or over there. Eventually, I'll post a photo essay of this project, but until I know for certain there's actually going to be something to show, no need to post interims I guess.

I love gardening with a passion, so this is wonderful work even if I will have to walk away from it when it's done. I just wish this particular part had gone more smoothly the first time. I want people to fall in love with this place and want it before they even walk in the front door, so I don't mind working for it.

I'll be looking for your other posts now, as I read the forums. Thanks again for responding.

I thought my posts were lengthy!! 8)

I had/have a similar problem, my wife and I feed the squirrels around our home.
I know most people try to get rid of them, they are wild but none the less they come and take peanuts out of our hands, a couple jump up on my shoulder and reach down and take the peanuts out of my shirt pocket. It has come to a point that whenever we go out on the deck, which is quite extensive, they just come running up as if to say wheres the peanuts.
My wife and I both find this to be an enjoyable experience.

Having said that, these pesky little critters can be %$#$# on plants. I started my moonflowers from seeds simply by just throwing them into almost mud and leaving them like that until I could see green, once they started to sprout I went from almost mud to wet dirt, to shorten this up a bit, any plant I put out that was less than 6 inches tall even with real leaves did not survive, they were not eaten, just dug up. I brought them all into the greenhouse and when they had grown to 6-7 inches in height I put them back out and they have been left alone.

No idea what all that means but I hope it helps.

Ted

Hi, Ted -- thanks for your reply to my question. I can totally relate to what you've said. I'd enjoy having them come up to me and take peanuts out of my pocket, too. I love the wildlife in my yard and of the squirrels that used to winter in my attic, I caught babies in my utility room three different times that had fallen while climbing around in the space between the floors. That's when I learned that baby squirrels don't bite. If you can manage to pick them up somehow (mine were usually hanging from the insulated A/C pipes, upside down, and couldn't manage to right themselves,) they don't even attempt to bite you. They were all adorable.

That said, when it comes to my plants, my attitude toward them changes. All out war, on that side of the yard.

So, I checked first thing this morning and nothing had been disturbed of the approx. 40' of fence I planted yesterday. After I planted each seedling, I sprinkled cayenne and red pepper on the ground, replaced the natural leaf/pine straw mulch that was there when I started, and added another sprinkling of cayenne. I think that will help to deter the digging... I'm just stalling re. spraying the leaves.

While most of my plants were 10 - 11 inches tall, a small number were only about 4 - 5, but with the cotyledons fully expanded. That makes them about 3 1/2 - 4 inches across, tip to tip. Since my original batch had some of the seed-leaves eaten (bitten off, actually,) these might be the most likely to be damaged. I hate to spray them, though, since they're the smallest and may be the most vulnerable. I haven't heard from anyone yet over in the From Seed forum.

Maybe I'll just start with one plant and see what happens. I really wanted to wait for an overcast day, but didn't think I could wait any longer, they were so big for the peat pellets. It was in the low 90's yesterday. Some looked a tiny bit wilted by the time I got to the end of the row, but this morning every plant looked fine.

I also have a dozen back-up plants in 6" pots, in case of casualties. If there are no casualties, I'll have lots of wonderful plants to give to friends and neighbors.

Thank you so much for reading. I probably should be writing a garden journal instead of posting in the forums? When I have time to look into that, maybe I will. As I said to robbie, I'll be on the watchout for your posts now.

Update: Of my new plants, not one casualty! I may go out and dust the ground with fresh cayenne, for safety's sake, but not a single plant has been bothered since last Friday. I'm elated! They're a little slow to start growing, as were my first batch, but it's wonderful to look down the fence line and see all of them so healthy and undamaged.

Of my original plants which now have about five or six true leaves on their vines, I found numerous holes in the leaves and a nighttime/flashlight search netted (literally,) a stunning little Golden Tortoise Beetle. It looked just like a tiny piece of jewelry, sitting on the leaf. I only saw one the first night and one the second night and that second one is in a jar upstairs in my room. I'm really hoping I can find something else it will eat. (Should have read the site I linked to below, to see if there is.) It looks a faded orange with darkish spots in natural light, but under a spotlight in the dark, it's pure gold. I'd never seen one in my life before, all 58 years worth! I guess... 'if you plant it, he will come.'

Lauren

P.S. I just noticed in the preview that it didn't give credit for the photo, so I will. That picture is from www.ladybuglady.com

~*~ My apologies. I noticed today that the link won't take you to the picture any more, as it did when posted. If you use Google Images and search for golden tortoise beetle, you'll find it on the first page (as of 7-20-06, at least.)

The link worked for me, it does look like a piece of jewelry... lol

Glad to hear your fence project is starting to take off... Here's to continued success!!!

Rita