This was enjoyable and motivational. A question: if you’re growing things that are up off the ground (such as beans, or a raspberry bush), is it a problem if a cat poops in your garden? I haven’t been successful in getting this one to stop, so I wonder if I should only grow flowers in those beds.
Good question. I would say if the cat poops in there regularly, it's probably best to just plant flowers instead of food, since cat poop is full of so many germs. Especially if you have other spaces to plant food crops. That said, you could also try companion planting to keep the cat away. I don't know for sure, but strong-smelling herbs/flowers might deter it. From what I've read, basil, dill, oregano, and savory all grow well with beans. Marigolds also seem to grow well with just about anything, and are a common pest deterrent. Again, not sure if these will repel cats, but if nothing else, they'll fill out the garden bed, presumably making it a less appealing place to poop?
I wanted to try to grow a garden during pandemic funemployment but my climate is extremely challenging so I was intimidated and my housing was unstable so I didn’t want to invest in raised beds or a greenhouse at our rental so I found a workshare at a local organic farm. It’s been great and I even got paid last summer so just wanted to offer that up as an option.
Such a good suggestion! Thank you for sharing. I volunteered at an organic urban farm a few years ago and learned so much, and got to take home fresh veggies every week.
This was enjoyable and motivational. A question: if you’re growing things that are up off the ground (such as beans, or a raspberry bush), is it a problem if a cat poops in your garden? I haven’t been successful in getting this one to stop, so I wonder if I should only grow flowers in those beds.
Good question. I would say if the cat poops in there regularly, it's probably best to just plant flowers instead of food, since cat poop is full of so many germs. Especially if you have other spaces to plant food crops. That said, you could also try companion planting to keep the cat away. I don't know for sure, but strong-smelling herbs/flowers might deter it. From what I've read, basil, dill, oregano, and savory all grow well with beans. Marigolds also seem to grow well with just about anything, and are a common pest deterrent. Again, not sure if these will repel cats, but if nothing else, they'll fill out the garden bed, presumably making it a less appealing place to poop?
I wanted to try to grow a garden during pandemic funemployment but my climate is extremely challenging so I was intimidated and my housing was unstable so I didn’t want to invest in raised beds or a greenhouse at our rental so I found a workshare at a local organic farm. It’s been great and I even got paid last summer so just wanted to offer that up as an option.
Such a good suggestion! Thank you for sharing. I volunteered at an organic urban farm a few years ago and learned so much, and got to take home fresh veggies every week.
What a great summary, and very encouraging to boot. Thank you!
So glad you found it helpful!