Now I love dogs as much as the next gardener–but not in my garden. Except for this handsome fellow. This handsome well-trained fellow. This is Cody and he knows better than to trample across his mama’s garden beds!
Okay, that’s not entirely true. When the neighbor dogs are at the fence begging for his attention, all bets are off. Cody is a social thing and does enjoy his visits.
I guess what I’m saying is that when supervised, this boy is an excellent garden companion. It’s the wandering neighborhood dogs I’m concerned about!
And I have evidence. Those are doggie footprints.
They may not look like much in this photo, but trust me, those are them. In fact, my husband pointed the little fella out to me the day before. An adorable beagle. When I called after him he ran, leaving me with the impression he was easily startled, had lost his way and would not be back.
I was wrong. Next day, he was back. And rooting for beans. Apparently dogs like beans?
This was news to me, but after laboring for hours tilling my rows, amending my soil and dropping my seeds, I was not amused. Walking out to the garden, strolling my rows as I always do, I noticed some of the beans laying atop the dirt. Now this can happen with too much water. Yep. Beans will float right to the surface if you give them too much water. Can happen in a downpour, though it hadn’t rained. And I checked my soil moisture. Just right.
No. This was the work of an uninvited visitor. So after I replanted my bean row (plus a few corn kernels in the next row) I contemplated how best to dissuade this canine from doing visiting again. Like bugs, was there a plant that would naturally repel dogs? Remember, not only am I an organic gardener but I’m a dog lover. I have no intention of hurting this pumpkin but I also have no intention of allowing him to run roughshod over my beds again. What’s a poor gardener to do?
Well I read marigolds will do the trick. If you plant them around your garden, the dogs will resist the urge to visit.
Really? Marigolds? Lemon and grapefruit rinds are supposed to do the trick as well, however I just don’t see myself littering my garden with citrus rinds. Not only will it diminish the glorious ambiance, it doesn’t quite set the right example for the kids if you know what I mean. After all, we have a compost habit we’re trying to maintain and giving them permission to toss rinds on the ground doesn’t feel right. Besides, look how pretty these two go together. (And they’re excellent companions in the garden!) Problem is, my beans are already in. Too late to plant marigolds to fix my intruder problem.
I could always put up a fence. A bit extra work and probably not something my husband wants to add to his hunny-do list. Maybe thorny branches strewn about?
Nah. I might scratch myself. Any suggestions? I’m all ears!
I’ve not tried it myself but I am told if you pepper your garden with black pepper when the dog sniffs around in the ground it will go elsewhere. It sounds like it could be an expensive answer for a big garden though, plus I would question it’s efficiency if it were to get wet. Aside from that it sounds like it might do the trick though. I’ve had a lot of luck keeping deer and rodents from eating plants by spraying them with sort of a chili-pepper smoothy.
I’ve heard about pepper, too but never tried it. And you’re right–watering could be an issue in its efficacy. Hmmm… Are dogs afraid of anything? Other than a mad-hatter garden lady, that is. 🙂
Do you think that beagle has been eating the spinach sprouts in my garden? One day they were there — I was so excited. Now they’re gone. You may have to stand watch and spray the intruder with the garden hose when you see him. Hopefully Pavlov’s theory will kick in sooner than later.
You may have wascally rabbits! They love to eat my flowers along the house but won’t go anywhere NEAR my garden — too many hawks and eagles swirling above. 🙂
Our dog doesn’t like shiny pans or anything metallic. If you hang a few pie tins around it might work. My father holds a baking sheet in front of him to keep our dog from pestering him. Just a thought. 🙂
EXCELLENT suggestion! I will definitely try it — thanks!