The Vine: November 5, 2010
Dear Sars,
A question for you and the Nation. I am a cat-owner who loves to cook. The problem is this: I want a herb garden. Since I rent, it’s going to have to be in pots, which is fine. Except for the cats.
I have a neutered boy cat, who isn’t much of a sprayer, thankfully. But the BIG tom next door (neutered, but I think probably too late in life to stop the problem) sprays on pretty much anything we leave outside, in what I can only imagine is some sort of territorial battle/psychological warfare with my much smaller and quite nervous cat.
So, here’s the thing. Obviously I want to cook with these herbs. How do I stop the cat from pissing on them? Put them up high somewhere? Encase them in mesh or wire or something? Any ideas? Will lemongrass be a strong enough scent to deter him altogether? Growing indoors is not an option — not enough sunlight.
Cheers,
Alison
Dear Alison,
I can’t wait to hear what the readers have to add, because we’ve struggled with variations on that problem here at Far Thill — using the gerania as a litterbox, napping in and therefore smothering to death a large pot of basil, using tiny tomato seedlings as Cat Dancers, etc. I also worry that they’ll nibble something that’s terrible for cats.
I had some luck basically lofting my deck plants on a table/shelf structure similar to that you’d put over a radiator. Mr. Stupidhead put a layer of our water-resistant fence paint on it, and it’s held up well to the elements as well as fending off various feline sorties. But what I’d really like is a coat-tree-esque structure for outdoor use.
I’d also really like to plant some root veg next year, but Gen and I worry that the customary digging/romping about is going to make it a no-go, so we’ll probably build a rectangular structure with corrugated-metal “curbs” and a hinged screen top — lets sun in, keeps snacky pets out.
We’ve got plenty of time to hear and implement suggestions before we plant again. Readers, what have you bought or built to attract sun and repel felines?
Tags: Ask The Readers cats home 'n' garden
There’s no mention of whether the renter might have any sort of overhang over her outdoor space (and if so, if she’s allowed to put nails/screws into it), but there are all kinds of hanging baskets out there – even very cheap plastic ones – that might work perfectly. Also, if she has a wall that she is allowed to nail/screw into, I’ve seen all kinds of interesting solutions for hanging mini-gardens on Apartment Therapy. One of my favorite ideas was using one of those pocketed shower curtains, filling each pocket with soil, and putting a different herb in each. Maybe do a search there for “mini garden” or “hanging garden”?
Could you use hanging pots on your balcony? Install a hook in the roof or an arm with a hook on the wall and then suspend your plants in the pots from that? Or perhaps you could find a Shepard’s hook with a stable base that you could use.
What about those Woolly Pocket vertical garden thingies?
Cat dancers? Splainy?
http://www.catdancer.com/products.htm
Googly?
You *could* put them indoors by investing in some cheap plastic shelves, some fluorescent light fixtures (the small ones that are designed for mounting over your kitchen counter), and some of those “daylight” fluorescent bulbs. They really do work.
Do you have a Master Gardner program in your area? They are an awesome resource for such questions! My mom had a problem with deer (despite deer fencing) and the neighborhood Bad Kitty (seriously, it’s marking make it look like it wears a tiny leather jacket and I swear I’ve seen it smoking!) getting into both her veggie garden and the lovely porch planters. Josie (I think that’s her name) the Master Gardener said to sprinkle some cayenne pepper in the problem areas as both deer and cats don’t like the smell.
How about a Blender Defender?
I’ll second the hanging basket idea. Also: The half-barrel planters we use seem to work really well for keeping out both cats and rabbits, but you have to make sure to line them with gravel first for drainage.
We had a problem with next-door cat digging in our containers. Shake-Away (a mixture of crystalized coyote urine and garlic) helped a little, and I think that might help with the spraying, making it seem like your garden is the territory of a larger beastie.
If anyone else is having digging problems, what ended that for good in our yard was putting sticks in areas of the planter that were bare. Like a tiny tiger trap, only without the sharpened points. It made the garden look less like a litter box, and therefore less inviting.
I don’t have a cat, but it seems like Earth Boxes might work. They are self contained container gardens that has a cover for the dirt like a fitted sheet to keep the weeds out, moisture in, better yield. Might it also minimize the kitty litter box issues? They also have a stand you can buy to keep them at waist height which might take them out of spraying range, depending on nearby surfaces. http://www.earthbox.com The stand doesn’t seem to be online at the moment. I can vouch for the yield, last summer’s lemon cucumbers never stopped coming. A little spendy, but it is idiot proof gardening.
Hanging planters are great, and can be surprisingly high-volume. When I was condo-hunting lo these many years, there was a unit for sale in my building by someone who had terraced her balcony with a system of pots, planters, and various-sized baskets hanging off wall trellises; the yield must have been immense. I was very tempted; the unit itself was meh, but the mini-farm was awesome.
For large gardens, I have to second the cayenne pepper reco. About 15 years ago, my parents had a problem with skunks digging up their backyard & holing up under the bbq cover. On the advice of a friend, we bought a monster bag of cayenne pepper at a bulk store, tossed it all over the garden, and circled the bbq with it like a cobalt ring. Worked like a charm, though it should be replaced every time it rains.
When I got involved in Square Foot gardening, I learned how to make covers similar to this one http://hippygirl.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/garden-covers/ to protect my garden from cats and rabbits. They aren’t pretty, but they lift off easily when you want to weed or harvest. I’ve also seen ones made out of pvc pipe and clear plastic. Good luck!
Here is a commercial version of a cover. These are for the beds, but you could rig something similar to cover your pots at night or when you aren’t around. http://www.urbangardensolutions.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=GK2448DP
http://www.aerogrow.com/
i got this for my ex-husband’s grandmother one year for christmas. it has its own grow light, so you use it indoors. you might think its a little pricey, but it worked great and she loved it.
You could try a topsy-turvy ( http://www.topsygardening.com )which work well for herbs. Or for something cuter http://tinyurl.com/35zpwp9
I suppose a very active cat might knock the whole thing over but mine are super extra lazy.
How about this? Sposed to be great –
http://www.windowfarms.org/
Your local garden center or Home Depot equivalent will probabably have shepherds’ crooks for fairly cheap, in various heights. Just poke them into the ground and hang your plants out of kitty reach.
A quick amazon search for ‘hanging plant stand’ comes up with bunches of styles – some that poke into the ground, some that are freestanding
I got a greenhouse this year and the yield was tremendous. It’s November now and it’s still producing tomatoes and peppers. I got a fairly large greenhouse but not sure how much space you have. I would recommend somethings this:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_318839-10155-FHPT400CL_0__?productId=3111999&Ntt=greenhouse&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dgreenhouse
My mom and uncle have them and they love them. Easy to assemble and will help keep moisture in and kitties out. Plus you can move it indoors for winter use!
I have nothing for the poster, but Sars, if you check out Earthtainers, they put plastic sheeting/garbage bags on top of the soil- that would make the cats not use it for a litter box and you could probably us it for the root veg instead of tomatoes. You could also put tin foil on top of it once the stuff started coming up (with holes in it for the plants of course) if your two cats hate stepping on tin foil as much as mine does. http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/
I’d suggest the Power Plant Herb Garden, from ThinkGeek (over here: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/b7d7/). It’s a hydroponic plant container, and designed to sit on your desktop or counter.
The full kit is a bit on the expensive side, especially if you want to grow eight or more herbs; the Power Plant Pro is $100+, and the grow light is around $50. Plus, they usually don’t have the whole thing in stock all at once.
But it’s useful for the whole “limited outdoor space, equally limited indoor space, and not enough sunshine” deal I’ve got going on in my apartment (although I haven’t purchased it yet, I’ll admit; still waiting for the Power Plant Pro to come back into stock). And it sounds like it’d help Alison with her problem.
Thanks for the stick idea. My cat digs into my herbs which I just brought indoors; in the past I rigged up a complicated grating system but sticks are much simpler. I’m gonna go plant a bunch of chopsticks right now.
Some really interesting growing ideas here, I’m definitely trying the EarthTainer for my tomatoes next year.
Anyone have any suggestions for keeping dogs out of flower beds? The neighbor’s dog has decided to use our yard as a bathroom this summer–the flower beds right by the front door, of course. I’m tired of it, it’s terrible on the plants, and talking with the neighbors has done no good (kinda scary people who regularly have the cops called on them for domestic disputes…) I’ve tried the cayenne pepper and it wasn’t very effective.