Every year I plant a flower, vegetable or herb that I’ve never grown before in an effort learn something new and challenge myself. This year my gardening challenge comes in the form of a five-month-old golden retriever puppy named Lucy.
Unlike her predecessor for whom the word “No” actually held some meaning, Lucy’s nose and mouth and paws are into everything. Short of surrounding the garden, the flower beds and the pond with four foot fencing, I need a plan.
Last week Lucy had a doggie friend over who taught her how to dig holes in the lawn. I marched out there with cayenne pepper and shook a little bit into each hole. Lucy backed right off with a look of surprise and hasn’t gone back to those holes since.
That success led me to consider trying the following recipes. To prevent dogs from digging in the compost pile, mix four tablespoons of Tabasco sauce with four tablespoons of ground red pepper in a quart of water. After you’ve turned the compost, sprinkle the solution over the pile.
To repel cats and dogs, mix three teaspoons Tabasco sauce, one teaspoon chili powder, one-half teaspoon dish soap and two cups of water in a trigger spray bottle. Spray around the perimeter of the area you want pet-free.
Another cat and dog repellant: mix four tablespoons Tabasco sauce, four tablespoons garlic powder, one-half teaspoon corn oil and a quart of water in a trigger-spray bottle. Apply as above.
All the above solutions must be re-applied after it rains. I’m hoping that Lucy will be more well-behaved in a month or two so I won’t have to buy Tabasco sauce in gallon jars.
Gardeners must be careful that pets don’t eat fertilizers. Although most organic fertilizers won’t poison your pet, many natural products smell very attractive to them and eating them could make the animal quite sick for awhile. Chemical fertilizers will kill your pet. Make sure fertilizers are stored in pet-proof containers and placed out of reach. If your pet eats any kind of fertilizer or pesticide call the Animal Poison Control Center at 1-888-426-4435 for advice.
Many plants are toxic to pets. Ingesting some plants can cause death, while others cause a range of symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, depression, foaming at the mouth, tremors, lethargy, kidney failure, heart arrhythmia, anemia, weakness or convulsions.
The ASPCA has a website, www.apcc.aspca.org, that lists plants which are toxic to pets and the associated symptoms. Looking quickly through the list, I found these that are in my yard or home: bittersweet, clematis, daffodil, daylily, nightshade, diffenbachia, philodendron, hyacinth, grapes, iris, yew, lily of the valley, onions, tomato plants, tulips and yucca. A minefield for Lucy!
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