I have my lovely seed and plant catalogs and am already happily circling things to plant for springtime.

have you got your catalogs yet? Are you thinking yet about what you are going to plant this year?

I really want a garden and I have the catalogs and dream of all the things I can grow, but I have a huge problem. Squirrels!

Our neighborhood is over run with squirrels and they eat anything they can and my plants are a huge target. I have been growing herbs since we moved here two years ago but they go after any veggies I plant. I wouldn't mind sharing a tomato or two with them but they take a bite out of each tomato so I end up with nothing.

I have a sunny spot next to the deck and I planned on making a pot garden. I wanted to plant everything in big pots and stake all the veggies so weeding would be a breeze but the damn squirrels would have a field day and I won't get anything to harvest.

Jilly I found two things I really want to plant. The Aronia Berry. It is a bush of pretty white flowers and then berries that are super high in antioxidants that has the medicinal benefit of balancing blood sugars and aids in digestion. The other is a fruit of old. Paw Paw is a fruit of our founding fathers and looks very interesting. I would also like to plant a planter of patio blueberries. They are all available through Michigan Bulb Co.

Does anyone have a plan to get rid of squirrels in the garden? I have always had a garden and I really miss it. Last year I planted a tomato plant in the upside down topsy turvy thing and they still got my fruits. They climbed on the roof and shimmied down and stole the tomatoes.

Help! I want a garden.

i have same problem with chipmunks ...one bite of everything ...not even like they eat the whole thing...very frustrating...only thing that did work was when i planted in big pots but then...they would burrow into the soil and ruin things too if i didnt keep a eye on things...

between the squirrels and chipmunks i cant keep my birdfeeder full either...

everyone thinks they are so cute...NOT to me.

Tessboss, i want to look up the aronia berry and pawpaws now. I discovered a tiny apple like fruit last fall called Jujubes and am interested in adding that to my mini-orchard.

Sounds like Pawpaws would be nice too. What do they look like?

I also found some fig trees here last fall. I could not afford them at the time, but will save up for them this year. I still want some nuts trees.

I get very excited looking at the seed catalogs - i love looking at the unusual heirloom varieties! I want to try black tomatoes, blue potatoes and scarlet carrots!

As far as squirrels, how about companion planting with things squirrels find stinky, like rosemary?

it should be so easy as that jilly but, squirrels dont read the same books we do and they ALWAYS find ways to destroy and become a nuisance unfortunately...same with the dern chipmunks.

Get cats? IDK.

Well, I talked to a few people and read up and I found out that I can go to the farm store and get fox urine and sprinkle it around the garden area and they will stay away. Also, spray plants with cayenne pepper and they also suggest setting up a squirrel eating station, which I will not be doing.

My dog has caught and killed 3 so far since we lived here. I felt bad at first but then I saw how much they tease her and I let nature take its course.

I just really want a garden!

I heard somewhere that Dial soap keeps squirrels away, they cant stand the smell. Just hang some bars in old stockings around the garden. I have friends who have an old chicken coop on their property and the squirrels were destroying it; they put the dial soap in there and the squirrels did leave - the only problem being they moved into their attic! Paw paws are awesome fruit but it takes a while before they will start to fruit and not all trees do. You might be just a little north of their natural range - the natural range extends to southern Michigan and the one place I know they grow is in Lower Huron Metro Park but most of the clones (they grow clonally like aspens do) dont fruit. there are a few fruiting clones but I never did find them and my friend who did wouldnt share their location. Their natural habitat is river floodplain areas.

We have lots of chipmunks here, it certainly is a challenge. We have relatively few squirrels so that isn't as much an issue for us.

Our neighbors have cats they let run loose, so that helps. We often see the cat wandering around with a chipmunk in its mouth.

We haven't started our spring planning yet, although it is that time of year. It creeps up so quickly!

I like to start things from seed, so often we have a greenhouse in our kitchen sliding door area with tomatoes, spinach, and so on, so they grow well in time for planting. I'll have to talk with Bob and see what we want to grow this year.

We have a number of plants in containers that we brought in, and they're doing well! A huge rosemary plant, several pepper plants, and some herbs.

With all the cats here, we have zero vermin. My cats, the strays, the ferals, the neighbor cats. It seems to work. They even keep down the grasshoppers.

I bet I could grow the pawpaws here in AZ. Although they might need more water than i could easily provide them, if they grow in floodplains.

So far the herbs I left out are overwintering nicely. There are actually mosquitoes out and around! Time to make sure all the water spots are covered...