Metro grape growing: Part ll

Tim, it sounds to me like another normal, kind person has become a grape grower.

That's the spirit... I suggest rigging up an electrical net to shock the little bastards. :^>

Got my 1st squirrel yesterday. The cat got a bird the day before. Things are looking up. Long way to go yet. I doubt the chambourcin will be ripe before mid Oct.

Tim

Let the cat out this morning at 4:30. 3 'coons were in the back yard. Things look bad. I thnk I need a bigger trap. Tim

Raccoons are really cute (with their adorable little bandit faces) but they can really do a job on your harvest! We had a family last year, Momma and 4 babies. I heard noise in the back yard so I went out and they were all in my apple tree munchin away! I tried to scare them away by shooing and making noise and they all stopped what they were doing and looked at me like "Ya whataya want?" Then they got down out of the tree and started coming towards me like I was going to hand them a buffet or something. That's where I noticed I needed a trap. I have one of those Have a heart traps so nobody gets hurt. I caught them all within 2 days (very nosy little buggers) and relocated them on a mountain nearby. I'm sure they regrouped but if they didn't the babies were old enough to fend for themselves... This year it's skunks, I'm not sure if I want to drive around with a skunk in my trunk! Louise:o)

I have Have-a-heart trap now. It's just just squirrel size. I have to step up to coon size. Getting rid of the animals is much less a problem than catching them. The coons weren't even afraid of me. In fact, one would have come in the house if I didn't shut the door. Tim

We have a family which likes to feed on my bird-feeder. We can always tell, because the roof is up, after the baby coon has had a midnight snack. My husband is perturbed, that they don't scare very easily. He's not really into catch & release...but we live in the suburbs. My parents live in the countryside, so no one really cares if you walk around your land with a shot-gun to get ride of pesky animals. I never realized, until this summer, how much our dog kept things out of the yard. My garden has been over run with bunnies, chipmunks, squirrels, and coons. I'm going to have to rethink my garden plans for next year. Good-luck. Darlene

Darlene, You can do things in the country you can't do in the city for sure. I now have a more menacing problem. When birds would peck at the grapes, I knew the yellow jackets would follow to clean up. Now, black wasps are also there. They actually puncture the grapes. In 2 days they have done a ton of damage. Does anyone have any thoughts on controlling this? Tim

I read that hanging a fish carcass over a pie plate filled with water and a thin layer of oil works great... Louise:o)

I read that hanging a fish carcass over a pie plate filled with water and a thin layer of oil works great... Louise:o)

I read that hanging a fish carcass over a pie plate filled with water and a thin layer of oil works great... Louise:o)

Sorry about that, I think I had a glitch there! :o) Oops

I think you can use Sevin.

I think your black rot problem has causes alot of grapes to split and be suseptiple to bees. I was under the understanding that bees DON'T puncture grapes they just take advantage of holes caused by other things. I have LOTS of bees in my yard and I don't have alot of bees on my grapes. Prevention starts with the spray program early next year.

Bob