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September 2, 2025

This Week's Garden Gab​
​Why I Can't Live My Best Garden Life

Hi Reader!

It's a good thing I didn't know these rabbits would be such a bane to my existence when I started gardening. I had no idea they were so destructive. My more rabbit-sensitive friends kept reminding me that "They must be hungry." Yeah, uh-huh.

In this edition:

• The plans I had at the beginning of the summer
• The tactics I used to reach my goal
• What actually happened

Education:

I can honestly say that the biggest learning curve I've experienced in life after achieving all of my formal education is when I started gardening.

I'm grateful for all the YouTube influencers and bloggers who put their knowledge, trials and tribulations out on social media for al the newbies such that I was back then.

I feel confident in growing a variety of fruit and vegetables now.

But ...

There is one issue that I have NOT conquered yet >>> RABBITS!

They have taken me through a range of emotions this summer but mostly ... frustration!

My heart wants them to live their best life out there in my garden.... go ahead, enjoy it as much as I do. However, they get greedy and munch down EVERYTHING, without remorse.

I had big plans for this summer. The excessive rain and extreme heat made it a challenge to achieve my vision but I was able to grow and enjoy a bit of food.

My great ideas ...

💡One idea I had was to plant an OKRA fence along my white picket fence to get a bit of summer privacy. I sowed so many okra seeds. They are very easy to grow in my area and require very little attention. Rabbits have never bothered okra. Probably because they are a bit fuzzy; which they hate.

💡I also wanted a couple of wildflower patches so I bought wildflower seed packets from the Dollar Store.... $.25 per pack. Deal!

💡Lastly, I learned of the Butterfly Pea Flower. It produces a beautiful, deep purple flower that can be used as a tea for your immune system. A drop of lemon juice added and it changes to a lavender color. I planted it in two spots with 6 ft stakes. I thought it would be so pretty as the vine covered the stakes.

So many ideas! :)

Application:

There are several deterrents for rabbits and other little beasts. Here is what I've tried.

1. Cayenne spray. I bought the extra hot heat unit cayenne powder, mixed with water and sprayed my leaves and around the base of the plant. It's HOT!
2. Garlic spray. I boiled garlic, cayenne and strained it into a spray bottle.
3. Rotten tomato leaves. This stuff STUNK so bad I could hardly use it. I took a few tomato leaves put them in a jar with water and let it ferment in the hot sun for 24 hours. P----U! I held my nose and sprayed it everywhere I wanted rabbit to avoid. I heard rabbits do NOT like strong scents.
4. ​Cat Deterrent Mat. I figured if it worked for cats it should work for rabbits. It has little spikes on it so these beasts won't walk on it.

5. NERF Blasters. Yes, desperation causes one to think outside the box. I bought it. Being too slow with bad aim only resulted in Nerf darts in my neighbors Koi Pond. *sigh*

Selection:

Here's what happened.

The okra started to grow along the fence. I knew it would get to about 4 to 6 feet tall... a nice fence height. They were so pretty putting on beautiful leaves ... then ....I walked out one day and to my amazement and frustration I saw the telltale markings of rabbits. I clinched my teeth to keep bad words inside. My okra was mowed down. *rage*

A couple of friends came over one day and as they were leaving I showed them my little wild flower patch and don't you know it .... a baby rabbit had squeezed through the chicken wire and was feasting on my new flowers. *rage*

I planted green beans this year and they were growing nicely after the intense heat let up some. I'm not a fan of them but I grew some for friends. The vine was 7+feet tall, twining around the grapevines. It was huge. I protected it with hardwire and small creatures couldn't get through it.

I decided to remove the wire after the plant was established because the bottom leaves were old and tough. Safe, right? Nope. A few days later, rabbits had eaten through the vines at the base therefore everything above it is now dead. *rage*

The Butterfly Pea Plant took a long time to germinate; I thought the seeds were dead but after the rain ceased and the sun showed they took off. I was so happy. I protected them with wire fencing and the cat mat. Even with all that, the rabbits found their way to the top of the vine and ate it down. *rage*

You can't really see the rabbit damage. I ended up digging these up and putting them in a pot on a table but they are now struggling. You can, however, see the beautiful flowers, and the extreme measures I took to keep the little beasts away.

Do y'all remember early in the season when I wrote about the nest of baby rabbits in one of my grow bags? Remember how they jumped out one at a time? Remember what I did to them? I let them go.

Yes, I let them go. 🙄

They ate my mums, gladiolus, Stella D'oro lily, and red potato plants too. This winter will include the building of new 'raised' and guarded beds for all plants.

Just so you know...

...even with the beast battles, it was a great summer of growing. Not because things were perfect; of 8 tomato plants I had only a few tomatoes compared to the countertop-full last year with only 5 plants, I was plagued with squash bug damage the whole summer, fungus and mildew issues were extreme due to the excessive rain, and I couldn't be out there just enjoying life as planned because it was soooooo hot, but I got exercise, peace, contentment, and beauty... all just outside my door.

All in all, it was a good summer growing season. 🌞

​

That's all I have for this edition. Feel free to write me at jangardener@gardenease.org if you have any questions or comments.

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I'll see you in the next edition!

Jan🤗

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