Snakes, bugs, birds, and yellow leaves :-/

[Lisa0825]

OK, so today I have my first negative report on my garden. I walked out there with my watering pitcher to sprinkle gently on my still small plants, and saw movement near my foot... It was a grass snake about 3 feet long!!! :wow:

I have been trying to find any reference to snakes being good in a garden, but have not yet. Do they eat bugs? I was shocked mainly because it was out there in the open, not in the higher grass toward the back of the yard.

I also found that a bug has been eating leaves on my bell pepper plants. I couldn't find the bug. I was hoping maybe the snake ate it! :mad:

A bird has been eating my blueberries. :eyes: I don't really mind. I wasn't expecting to harvest any yet anyway, and once the shrub gets bigger, I imagine I'll have enough berries to share.... or I'll just start protesting branches while they ripen.

Finally, the leaves on my peppers and one of my tomato plants are getting a bit yellow. I am sure I'll find info on that online soon, but I am too busy looking up info on SNAKES!!! :wow:

[NMDemDist2]

1. we get yellow leaves around here which shows a lack of available iron

not sure that's your trouble there though, since you used potting soil didn't you?

here's a article though

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf482428.tip.html

[Lisa0825]

2. I used the mix recommended in Square Foot Gardening...

peat, compost, and vermiculite. I have been reading, and I think it may be low nitrogen, because it is the lower leaves that are turning yellow, not the new ones. I guess I should go see if there is anything organic I can add to raise the level. Or maybe a general organic fertilizer?

[NMDemDist2]

3. used coffee grinds, right on the dirt

mix em in a bit if you can

[Lisa0825]

4. Thanks!

I don't drink coffee, but I can collect grounds at work.

[Lisa0825]

5. Here's a pic showing the yellowing.....

with a nice green pepper plant in there too.

[NMDemDist2]

7. hold off on the water for a couple days

peppers don't like wet feet

[Lisa0825]

9. Thanks, I will keep that in mind...

I was trying to go by what I read, to only feed them when they look like they need it, so I have only been watering when they get a bit droopy, or if I stick my finger in the soil and it isn't even damp at all.

I went ahead and got some organic plant food and put a little bit down. And while I was there, I bought some cuke and strawberry seedlings..... *sigh*...... I'm going to need a second square! :rofl:

[CC]

6. Snakes are good.

At least that is what I am told every time I come across one by the SO and farmers around here. Except for Copperheads and Water Moccasins, those they will move or kill if close to houses. Question the only grass snake I could find was in Britain. Though one place said there is one here but that they were usually insectivorous green snakes. Could you have found a green snake or a garter snake?

There is a picture on this page http://www.austinreptileservice.net/solid.html and seems green snake feed on insects. That would make them very good for the garden.

Garter snakes are on this page. http://www.austinreptileservice.net/stripes.html

Have you thought about covering you blueberry bush with a bird net? Might be there only way to get any blueberries and they are safe for the birds. They learn fast what they can and can't get too. I am going to have to cover my garden beds for a while or the birds here will think it is just a new feeder. lol Too early yet for planting here though but soon.:)

[Lisa0825]

8. I read today that snakes eat slugs.

I might not have been so scared of it, except that I was STUNNED! I have never seen one that big in short grass before! We always called them "grass snakes" around here, but I don't know the true name. They are plain, dark gray to brownish-black snakes with no markings. They are never aggressive. They just hang out in high grass or around unattended patios with multiple potted plants. I usually only see ones that are 4-8 inches long. It was just startling to see a 3 foot snake slither away only a few inches from my foot! :wow:

I hope it ate the &*!^%#& slug that ate my pepper leaves!

edited to add: I will look into the bird net. I remember reading about some kind of protection for them, but I didn't commit it to memory. I wasn't going to worry about it too much yet. For now, I am just trying to get everything started. I am willing to share with the birdies as long as they'll share with me :-)

[Gato Moteado]

15. depends on the species of snake......

some eat slugs and snails. some eat fish. some eat frogs. some eat rodents and birds. some eat other snakes.

either way, if you're in texas, the only choices you have for venemous snakes are rattlesnakes, water moccasins or coral snakes. without a photo, i'll have a hard time trying to ID a cryptic brown or gray snake for you, but i'm sure it was harmless. do you live near water?

[Lisa0825]

16. I live a couple blocks from a drainage bayou,

and have undeveloped land a block away. I am not worried about the snake. It was just a visceral reaction to seeing a large one I wasn't used to seeing. I am sure it was just a run of the mill grass snake, and it meant no harm, just wanted away from me. I guess I have a bit of phobia, because at that moment, my first instinct was to let out a yell!

I went back out the next day, and I saw a little snake about 6 inches long, and I wondered if it was momma I'd seen the day before! I am not scared of the little ones. I used to catch them and play with them. It was just seeing a big one that freaked me out a bit.

It's really interesting how even just a beginning garden has attracted life I haven't seen in years... the big snake, the little snake, a spider about as big as a nickel (not counting legs), tiny caterpillars of some kind... I haven't seen any of these in the lawn in agges... only since I built the garden.

[Gato Moteado]

14. ugh....tim cole's website......that guy owes me like $300

when i lived in austin i bailed him out of a couple of jams to the tune of about three big ones. if he were poor i wouldn't have cared, but the guy just doesn't pay his debts.

he's also an unethical business person. don't ever do business with that guy.

[LiberalEsto]

19. Nylon net works better than bird net

The holes in bird netting are just big enough so that birds can reach through and pick off the fruit.

Last year was the first time we got any blueberries from our five bushes. I bought nylon net -- the stuff they use to make kids' ballet class tutus -- fairly cheap at the fabric store, and made a giant shower cap thing to cover each bush.

I cut a big circle of net, took a big needle and some fishing line, made big stitches around the rim of the circle, and pulled loosely around the stem of the blueberry plant. Once the season is over, you can rinse them off and keep them for the next year.

[hermetic]

10. Grass snakes can be dangerous

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=283x687


:hide:

[Lisa0825]

12. LOL! Good one!

:rofl:

[Blue Gardener]

11. Snakes eat rodents

And other varmints that like to feast on your bulbs and plants. As long as they aren't poisonous I would welcome them to the garden.

[Lisa0825]

13. Thanks!

I will definitely be watching my step better now, however! LOL

[jillan]

17. A tip to keep birds out of your garden

Tinfoil! (Not just for hats :P)

Make several balls out of it - I make mine a little bigger than the size of a golf ball - and scatter them around.

When the sun hits the foil, it hurts the birds eyes and scares them away (at least while the sun is out).


If I found a snake in my garden -- I'd be done. ewwww.

[NMDemDist2]

18. I've heard to hang old CDs from your trees too

esp. around here when there's almost always a breeze. the CD's twisting in the wind does the shiny flashy thing real well