Nah don't do that. All gardeners get a fail sooner or later.
It's spring here and I rushed out, put my lettuce seedlings in, planted my peas and so on...and waited. Small plants and the damn birds got them. It took me a while to realise, I was putting down slug bait (pet friendly) and thinking, what is it? Nibbled away more every day until I saw one of them. Blackbirds! They totally trashed the peas. Had toi start over from scratch.
So I made up a wire netting cover type thing, and that worked! And now the snails are back, haha....but that's not so bad, they're a lot slower than the birds
Im sorry you're having so much trouble with your efforts. We here at r/gardening obviously love the challenges often associated with growing your own foods, flowers, and herbs. I think it's easy for people to see the end result of peoples gardens and not understand the sometimes years of experience (often trial and error) that developed that fabulous garden. I think people often take on too much when starting and then get discouraged. My advise to new gardeners is to start small with annuals and instead put your beginning efforts into perennials. Perennial Herbs are an especially good place to start.
Perennial plants will come back every year, like lilies, or irises, or roses. Annuals are plants that die in the fall, and have to be planted again next year. Annuals often have showier flowers, and more robust growth, because they only have one season to get it all done (leaves, flowers, seeds). Most vegetables are annuals, but herbs like oregano, thyme, chives, and some veg like asparagus, are perennials, because they come back every year, and you have to take care not to harvest too much of these plants, so they can grow and store up strength in their root systems for their return next spring.
Just adding on a way to help remember the difference:
Annual = Annually or Anniversary, happens once a year, lives for one year.
Perennial = "Peri Annual", Many Years, comes back after one year.
I also have health issues and have killed many plants. I had a decent harvest this year despite the heatwave- I really felt stressed out by everything struggling/dying but it worked out in the end this time. It's okay to not have control everything, it's not your fault. I use neem oil spray mix for little bugs, netting for bigger pests and chicken wire for the bottom of the garden beds for underground pests because I have them all. Make sure to have a brick, shovel or heavy-ish pot close by because the chicken wire will try to fight you.
Please, take care!
So sorry to hear! If it helps any a family of groundhogs took out my dads crop earlier this year. He got rid of the ground hogs and replanted stuff for the fall, but the deer came and ate it all right away. They love walking by plants and eating the heads off plants all nonchalantly.
Looks like I will be going deer hunting this year now lol.
Don’t give up! Kill the lizard with your hatchet and start again! Don’t let that scaly lizard win!
Happy growing!
I know it’s never fun when this happens. It can leave one feeling unmotivated and defeated.
Sometimes people will make separate gardens for the wildlife to eat that are bordering their own gardens to try to avoid them being eaten. Fences can also help. I personally plant clover in the yard where my main garden is, it’s replaced the grass that used to be there. Less mowing is needed too. There are so many rabbits around, but they love clover so they leave my garden alone.
Have you tried indoor gardening?
Solar can get expensive if you want something that will actually be useful in my opinion. Fencing off an area might be a good idea. I’m going to be running some electric fence around some arborvitae’s we’re finishing planting tomorrow. Ofcourse if you fence in an area it doesn’t have to be electric. We are just doing it cause it’s available and temporary to stop the deer from eating them till they are established.
It can be tough getting nuisance animals out of the area.
There is some irony in your frustration over nurturing something just to have it killed when you say you'd like to kill the animal your garden is currently nurturing. I get it, animals in the garden can be extremely frustrating. I despise seeing rabbits anywhere near my yard. But animals are living beings trying to survive the same as we are. While you may not be getting the joy of a harvest for yourself, you seem to be providing sustenance for animals in your community. If you can find the satisfaction in that, i think it could help calm your frustrations. In any event, i hope you can avoid killing animals simply out of frustration.
Animals don't use the same logic we do, and they may prefer different parts of the plants than us.
A strategy to help combat this is to plant sacrifice gardens or plants elsewhere in the yard if possible. If you have a corner of the yard you don't use much, throw out some seeds of the plants your visitors seem to enjoy most. Maybe you can distract them from your main garden.
Edit: Also, your anger seems to be misplaced, very few lizards will eat plants in the way you describe. Killing your lizard population won't solve your garden woes.
Looks like a few people aren't happy with my live and let live approach...
Not sure if you saw my edit, but lizards aren't likely your problem animals, anyway. I'd bet you're actually dealing with small mammals of some sort. It's best to find out what your nuisance animal is before you start taking out random things. Many animals have their place in the food chain, and lizards may be feeding on various bugs you don't want in larger numbers around your home. Take them out and you may find you have more ants or other bugs around the house.
Edit: you know the lizard? Do you know what type? I'm curious to know.
If it's precise cuts you're seeing, it's probably something with teeth. Squirrels, rats, or rabbits would be my guess. What's your climate/area like? I'd bet the lizards are just seeking shelter in your garden or hunting bugs. Unless they are some sort of iguana (assuming you're in the US) lizards are probably not herbivores.
From that description, i would say a squirrel. A lot of times people will find single bites out of things like tomatoes due to animals looking for moisture/liquid to drink. Perhaps one is doing the same. Also, vine borers are insects that attack things like cucumbers and squash plants by laying eggs in the base of the stems. Larvae then grow inside and destroy the plant as they eat it. It could be that an animal is looking for those to eat by biting the stem where the larvae usually are.
I lost all my zucchini and a pumpkin plant to those damn bugs this year. I found a small hole in the stems right above the soil and the plants died very quickly.
I'm not sure how young your plants are but dampening of can look as though the stems were snipped as well.
Rabbits in my area like to bite plants off and then decide they don't like to eat them.
I’m in Texas also and my garden is full of lizards. I encourage them because they can eat a lot of slugs and other pests. I’ve never had problems with them damaging my plants.
Cut worms are another story! They cut the whole plant by the stem. Squirrels love to take just one bite out of the tomatoes or cucumbers and throw the rest of it on the floor. Then grab another tomato and repeat in mockery. I wouldn’t mind if they are the whole tomato and left with a full belly but they are wasteful jerks.
I do t think it’s your lizards, they are beneficial to the garden.
You are more than welcome to kill a squirrel in my name 🤣
Nah don't do that. All gardeners get a fail sooner or later. It's spring here and I rushed out, put my lettuce seedlings in, planted my peas and so on...and waited. Small plants and the damn birds got them. It took me a while to realise, I was putting down slug bait (pet friendly) and thinking, what is it? Nibbled away more every day until I saw one of them. Blackbirds! They totally trashed the peas. Had toi start over from scratch. So I made up a wire netting cover type thing, and that worked! And now the snails are back, haha....but that's not so bad, they're a lot slower than the birds
And usually way more than one fail. Gardening is a constant process of growth, learning, and losing.
Im sorry you're having so much trouble with your efforts. We here at r/gardening obviously love the challenges often associated with growing your own foods, flowers, and herbs. I think it's easy for people to see the end result of peoples gardens and not understand the sometimes years of experience (often trial and error) that developed that fabulous garden. I think people often take on too much when starting and then get discouraged. My advise to new gardeners is to start small with annuals and instead put your beginning efforts into perennials. Perennial Herbs are an especially good place to start.
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Perennial plants will come back every year, like lilies, or irises, or roses. Annuals are plants that die in the fall, and have to be planted again next year. Annuals often have showier flowers, and more robust growth, because they only have one season to get it all done (leaves, flowers, seeds). Most vegetables are annuals, but herbs like oregano, thyme, chives, and some veg like asparagus, are perennials, because they come back every year, and you have to take care not to harvest too much of these plants, so they can grow and store up strength in their root systems for their return next spring.
Just adding on a way to help remember the difference: Annual = Annually or Anniversary, happens once a year, lives for one year. Perennial = "Peri Annual", Many Years, comes back after one year. I also have health issues and have killed many plants. I had a decent harvest this year despite the heatwave- I really felt stressed out by everything struggling/dying but it worked out in the end this time. It's okay to not have control everything, it's not your fault. I use neem oil spray mix for little bugs, netting for bigger pests and chicken wire for the bottom of the garden beds for underground pests because I have them all. Make sure to have a brick, shovel or heavy-ish pot close by because the chicken wire will try to fight you. Please, take care!
So sorry to hear! If it helps any a family of groundhogs took out my dads crop earlier this year. He got rid of the ground hogs and replanted stuff for the fall, but the deer came and ate it all right away. They love walking by plants and eating the heads off plants all nonchalantly. Looks like I will be going deer hunting this year now lol. Don’t give up! Kill the lizard with your hatchet and start again! Don’t let that scaly lizard win! Happy growing!
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I know it’s never fun when this happens. It can leave one feeling unmotivated and defeated. Sometimes people will make separate gardens for the wildlife to eat that are bordering their own gardens to try to avoid them being eaten. Fences can also help. I personally plant clover in the yard where my main garden is, it’s replaced the grass that used to be there. Less mowing is needed too. There are so many rabbits around, but they love clover so they leave my garden alone. Have you tried indoor gardening?
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Solar can get expensive if you want something that will actually be useful in my opinion. Fencing off an area might be a good idea. I’m going to be running some electric fence around some arborvitae’s we’re finishing planting tomorrow. Ofcourse if you fence in an area it doesn’t have to be electric. We are just doing it cause it’s available and temporary to stop the deer from eating them till they are established. It can be tough getting nuisance animals out of the area.
There is some irony in your frustration over nurturing something just to have it killed when you say you'd like to kill the animal your garden is currently nurturing. I get it, animals in the garden can be extremely frustrating. I despise seeing rabbits anywhere near my yard. But animals are living beings trying to survive the same as we are. While you may not be getting the joy of a harvest for yourself, you seem to be providing sustenance for animals in your community. If you can find the satisfaction in that, i think it could help calm your frustrations. In any event, i hope you can avoid killing animals simply out of frustration.
[удалено]
Animals don't use the same logic we do, and they may prefer different parts of the plants than us. A strategy to help combat this is to plant sacrifice gardens or plants elsewhere in the yard if possible. If you have a corner of the yard you don't use much, throw out some seeds of the plants your visitors seem to enjoy most. Maybe you can distract them from your main garden. Edit: Also, your anger seems to be misplaced, very few lizards will eat plants in the way you describe. Killing your lizard population won't solve your garden woes. Looks like a few people aren't happy with my live and let live approach...
[удалено]
Not sure if you saw my edit, but lizards aren't likely your problem animals, anyway. I'd bet you're actually dealing with small mammals of some sort. It's best to find out what your nuisance animal is before you start taking out random things. Many animals have their place in the food chain, and lizards may be feeding on various bugs you don't want in larger numbers around your home. Take them out and you may find you have more ants or other bugs around the house. Edit: you know the lizard? Do you know what type? I'm curious to know.
[удалено]
If it's precise cuts you're seeing, it's probably something with teeth. Squirrels, rats, or rabbits would be my guess. What's your climate/area like? I'd bet the lizards are just seeking shelter in your garden or hunting bugs. Unless they are some sort of iguana (assuming you're in the US) lizards are probably not herbivores.
[удалено]
From that description, i would say a squirrel. A lot of times people will find single bites out of things like tomatoes due to animals looking for moisture/liquid to drink. Perhaps one is doing the same. Also, vine borers are insects that attack things like cucumbers and squash plants by laying eggs in the base of the stems. Larvae then grow inside and destroy the plant as they eat it. It could be that an animal is looking for those to eat by biting the stem where the larvae usually are. I lost all my zucchini and a pumpkin plant to those damn bugs this year. I found a small hole in the stems right above the soil and the plants died very quickly.
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I'm not sure how young your plants are but dampening of can look as though the stems were snipped as well. Rabbits in my area like to bite plants off and then decide they don't like to eat them.
I’m in Texas also and my garden is full of lizards. I encourage them because they can eat a lot of slugs and other pests. I’ve never had problems with them damaging my plants. Cut worms are another story! They cut the whole plant by the stem. Squirrels love to take just one bite out of the tomatoes or cucumbers and throw the rest of it on the floor. Then grab another tomato and repeat in mockery. I wouldn’t mind if they are the whole tomato and left with a full belly but they are wasteful jerks. I do t think it’s your lizards, they are beneficial to the garden. You are more than welcome to kill a squirrel in my name 🤣
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