Raised Bed Garlic bed & the crazy shipping prices for my AO

[AlaskaSue]

My big raised bed is done for the year…veg and seeds all harvested. Planted my garlic, hoping to avoid the problem I had with being raided last season. Got most of what I wanted in the dirt, and watched it for a couple days. Lo, something…I can’t imagine what as no prints were left…DUG out quite a lot of the cloves I’d planted. Ugh.

Sigh, I am replanting what got taken out, mulching deeply and have heavy plastic mesh I’ll anchor down with some of the many granite stones around here. That should work until spring when I’ll need to uncover…May need a row cover or something to protect them then, will have to think about that. Maybe even along the lines of the old glass bells gardeners used to use, but maybe plastic bottle ends….?

MEANWHILE IN ALASKA….
you think you have shipping issues? Let me show you what you’re missing. I want to buy bone meal for my newly added garlic row and found what I like to use online. Price was not bad, $50 for 50#…. then I checked shipping: $243. Typical!


But, it’s what one expects living in what’s left of The Last Frontier, maybe you’ll get a smile when you think about your shipping costs. There are workarounds I can do, tbough I do wish I had the easy access to beach peat that my Kodiak friends have!

Much warmer here today - we are up over 25 degrees from last few days, but so blustery that I need my parka and fur earmuffs to work outdoors. Totally worth it.


Note, this is not my photo but near my home.


I don’t have moose or bunny issues, but something likes the garlic….maybe I’ll see about a version of this come spring…

 

[twobarkingdogs]

Get yourself an inexpensive trail cam and place it near your garden so that you can get some pictures of what is messing with your garlic. I'll throw a link to a $30 cam from walmart below. I find the trail cams useful for monitoring the garden just for the issues you mention. The only thing I do is that I built a little roofed box to put them in to keep more of the weather, rain/dew, off of them because the seals on the cheaper cams sometimes are not the greatest around the battery storage area or where the storage card goes

tbd


Tasco 12 MP Tan Low Glow Trail Camera - 119274CW - Walmart.com


.

 

[Martinhouse]

It won't be an inexpensive trail cam if she has to order it in and therefore pay maybe another $200 or so in shipping!

 

[patriotgal]

Maybe one of us could flat rate usps ship to her. Of course, usps might not get it there til spring.

 

[Babs]

So sorry. It's such a bummer to invest so much into planting something, just to let it be for naught. If no prints, then I'd say it's coming from up above. Would birds be interested in garlic cloves?? My second guess would be aliens.

 

[twobarkingdogs]

It won't be an inexpensive trail cam if she has to order it in and therefore pay maybe another $200 or so in shipping!

Her $200 in shipping is for a 50lb bag of dirt from a smaller web company. Smaller companies can't get the shipping price breaks the larger companies can. My suggestion is for a 1lb trail cam bought from walmart. And when I changed my zip code to 99504 which is an anchorage zip code there looked like no change to the shipping although the price of the cam did go up $5. Amazon also had free shipping on trail cams to 99504 and can have it there by nov 10'th

tbd


https://www.amazon.com/GardePro-A3-...9S,B08DTCXGZN,B07PHQ2CKD&srpt=SECURITY_CAMERA

 

[xtreme_right]

I don’t have moose or bunny issues, but something likes the garlic….maybe I’ll see about a version of this come spring…

What about this?

 

[packyderms_wife]

Do you have marmots in your area? If so they love garlic, onions, etc.

 

[AlaskaSue]

Do you have marmots in your area? If so they love garlic, onions, etc.

Hmmm, I’ve seen ermine and fox…there are marmots at higher elevations. My step mom thinks it could be that doggone squirrel! I really need to get the security cameras replace and point one at the raise bed!

 

[AlaskaSue]

What about this?
View attachment 298505

Oh, I like that! Unless it is some bird - but each garlic was kind of ‘scooped’ out of the dirt so I’m thinking fur not feathers - for either a squirrel or a bird I’d need a top cover. I like the idea of setting the sections into the piping on the ground for sure.

Def getting some new cameras up, the last ones only lasted a season and around here I do want the visuals!

Thanks all for your input <3

 

[marsh]

Anyone who still needs garlic - Territorial Seed has a 25% off sale till Friday. They are out of Oregon. All Sale Items! - Territorial Seed Company

I got some ginseng to try in a very dark raised bed.

 

[AlaskaSue]

Anyone who still needs garlic - Territorial Seed has a 25% off sale till Friday. They are out of Oregon. All Sale Items! - Territorial Seed Company

I got some ginseng to try in a very dark raised bed.

The ground is too frozen here now, but I want to add ginseng next year. The horseradish and ginger are doing so well though that I need to plant more next year! I have nearly 70 garlic cloves ( Music, white, Siberian, elephant…)in the raised bed, mulched deep with hay and covered with mesh for winter in the hopes that I can dissuade those squirrels, But come spring I’m going to need a plan…!