Friday, October 9, 2009
Garden Disaster/Update
So I'm located in the Alibori...there is not much in terms of vegetation here, and the small amount that is here is seasonal. There are also large lizards...they routinely get over a foot long (nose to tail). This is apparently a horrible combination for fledgling gardens. Many of my plants sprouted, but within days I notice leaves missing and many times entire plants! I caught a couple lizards munching away and now the only survivors are 2 green bean plants. Anyone have any suggestions? I am currently hunting lizards with a blowgun but they just run away with the darts in their hides. I am also entertaining the idea of buying a cat or placing a screen tent over the developing plants until they are big enough to survive the lizard onslaught. I will try to get a picture of the lizards so you have an idea what I am dealing with. (NOTICE: I just went outside to get a picture of a lizard...I nearly caught one with my hands...when I noticed the 2 plants have dwindled to 1)
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2 comments:
Hey Mike, I'm Kimberly Pfirrmann-Powells mom & thought I'd look for some suggestions for you. Not alot of "Beninese lizards eating your vegetables" suggestions out there but maybe one of these will help:
"One of the best ways to repel animals is to make a hot solution for them. If you spray plants with a liquid that has pepper of some kind in it, it will deter the animals. A recipe for a solution is to mix a gallon of water with a couple of teaspoons each of ground cayenne pepper, Tabasco sauce, and Elmer's glue. All you do is spray the plants and it will keep the animals away. Another recipe, that has been around for years, is to mix together two eggs into one cup of water and then add a cup of milk and some soap. You then spray the plants and many animals will not eat the plants."
I know these ingredients may be hard to come by, if you'd like me to slip a couple of them into Kims next package from home, just let her know. Good Luck! Cindy Pfirrmann
From my "wwoofing days" I learned to put a cage of some sorts around them. I know this is not easy to come by in good old Benin, but perhaps you can make a makeshift greenhouse using window screening or find some type of chicken coop fencing... again, probably not easy to find. Or, you can patrol the veggies by sitting in a chair with a sweet Beninese zebra-print cowboy hat and a water gun... ???
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