Sandy, at least you have enought to do something with them. I tried drying some in the oven yesterday, and they turned out nice. It's a long process though, and I think after 3 hours of oven use, getting only two cookie sheets dried, that it's not very cost effective to do very many.

That's what they make dehydrators for, Tom!

Yes, I know, and I have one, but just haven't used it much yet. I wanted to try the process that Karen discribed though.

That's about it, here. Not nearly as full of flowers as I wanted it to be, but at least there are a few to finish out our season. It does look nice from inside, however; a lot of blooms are on the backside.

I have a dehydrator too but I am too impatient to use it. It takes me 3 hours and I can do 3 trays, so I compare that to buying premium sundried tomatoes in the stores and I am happy, lol. My dehydrator is used to store and dry all kinds of flowers and leaves that I make for cake decorating!!! I never do things the right way, lol.

Cookies4kids said:I have a dehydrator too but I am too impatient to use it. It takes me 3 hours and I can do 3 trays, so I compare that to buying premium sundried tomatoes in the stores and I am happy, lol. My dehydrator is used to store and dry all kinds of flowers and leaves that I make for cake decorating!!! I never do things the right way, lol.

Anybody tried making tomato leather? It would need to be done in a dehydrator, but you just put the whole tomatoes (cherry type are best) in a foodl processor or blender, blend until the skins are in tiny pieces (the skins have SO much flavor) and then pour out onto wax paper on the dehydrator shelves. I used to make small 'pancake' size leather circles and my kids loved them. I also would chop or tear them up to use on salads in winter.

You can also freeze the puree for sauce etc. very nicely. Again it eliminates the need for skinning, adds more flavor and retains nutritive value.

Hey, while I have the floor here, anybody got a good deterrent for bunnies in the veg. patch? I am helping the kids at the local elementary school with their veggie garden for the 3rd year in a row, and just this week we saw a bunny in the garden. arg. As the kids would probably rather see bunnies than grow veggies, we need to discreetly scare off the bunnies. Nobody's at the school in the evenings and on weekends, so they are eating all the seedlings, young plants etc. as well as some of the alfalfa pellets that we used to amend the soil before planting.

It's just the beginning of our winter growing season here, so we are planting short-season tomatoes and peppers, beans and in a few weeks will plant all the cool-season stuff to grow through the winter.

Elaine -- for the bunnies, a fence! Just needs to be a couple of feet high, with smallish holes at the bottom that the rabbits can't get through. That's the only thing that I've ever found that will reliably keep them away -- we tend to be somewhat overrun with cottontails here

I was afraid of that. We run the garden on grant money from various sources, and we've already tapped our sources to the max for this year. So there's no money to fence a 60ft. by 40ft. area and put in a gate. If necessary I will 'donate' the money for fencing, and then see if they will roll it into next year's grants. It's going to be $200 or so.

However, the garden is out in the middle of the playing field, and as I said, we have only seen this one bunny to date. I am hoping the predators might take care of them as they have to cross open mowed field in daylight to get to the garden. One can always hope . . .

Heh-heh. I was going to say...try sourcing (and pricing) the plastic snow fence...but no, you'd likely have a hard time finding it in Florida!!!

For about $130.00 (I think) you could try a solar fence charger and two or three strands of galvanized wire, but then you'd need a way to keep grasses/weeds from growing up underneath it. I didn't have a whole lot of luck with it, but I know others who swear by it. If you go this route, you'll also need a ground rod and 10 to 16 step-in fiberglass posts.

Hm, from what I've been reading, plastic doesn't hold them back, they just chew through it. Plastic coated chicken wire is about the cheapest, best option I'm finding.

The solar charger sounds terrific, and I might buy that myself, to use here in summer to guard my mango tree - but could give it a 'trial' period over at the school, too. I only need it in the June-July fruit bearing time.

We have the problem of a gate, too though. The whole garden is fenced with white plastic picket fencing (with spaces that I'm sure a bunny can get through or under) but there is no gate, just an opening with a trellis arch at one end. I'd have to brief all the kids about the charged wire, too. Although I don't suppose it is a shock that would hurt anyone?

For me, an18" plastic mesh fence is all that's necessary IF rabbits are my only problem. I have never had one jump/climb over the fencing, chew through it, or dig under it. You can easily step over the fence so no gating is required. Posts of some sort would be necessary every 10' or so.

Right, adults could step over an 18in. fence, but not a kindergartner. We have K through 5th grade gardeners. Can't have any kind of a 'trip hazard' at school either. We had to labor in summer heat to bury all our hoses and irrigation lines for that reason.

Gates are troublesome. There's almost always some play and a "squeeze spot" somewhere.

If you have water to it 100% of the time you might try one of those motion-activated scarecrows, but someone would have to remember to turn it off!
I'd forget and get sprayed.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000071NUS/

Ah ha! I have one of those, and use it at home in summer for the fruit trees. That's a great idea. Now to figure out if I can split the water supply one more time to put a hose on it. Then put up warning signs so the kids don't stray into the garden and get sprayed! Never a dull moment, huh?

We have one hose bib 80ft. away from the garden, and run micro-irrigation on timers for 8 raised beds plus a butterfly garden off it.

Elaine, Home Depot seems to have "chicken wire" 2' tall, 50' long, for under $9.00 -- http://www.homedepot.com/p/YAR...

so, you would need 4 of those ($36 or so), and should be able to devise a rudimentary "gate" relatively easily; I'm more or less assuming the kids aren't there unless an adult or adults are present, who could open the "gate."

Of course, you'd also need some kind of posts to support the fencing -- HD has some 4' tall garden stakes for < $2.00, if you spaced them every 10 feet you'd need 20 of them, so that's another $40; but if you already have a picket fence around the garden, maybe you wouldn't need those at all, you could just fasten the chicken wire to the pickets.

Hope this is helpful -- I really applaud you for your efforts with the kids and gardening!

Elaine, I do tomato chips. Just put in an oven on low heat till they are solid and crisp. Guests love them.

Yes, that's the affordable option, but I've had a few people here tell me that uncoated chicken wire doesn't last long in our brutal (hot, humid) climate. We can't have anything that might become a hazard to the kids, such as sharp ends of rusty chicken wire.

As with so many metal products these days, "Made in China" means made cheap and dirty. Btw, the price is $22.23 per 50ft. roll.

You're right, we certainly could fasten it to the existing fence posts and the pickets. Wonder if a few cans of Rustoleum would prolong its lifespan a few years?

Late addition, Yum, Glen the tomato chips sound wonderful. Do you just toast sliced tomatoes or puree and roast the puddles of puree?

" the price is $22.23 per 50ft. roll."

did you open the link I posted?? maybe the low price is just in my area?

I don't think I've ever had chicken wire rust -- but I can see where that would be a problem.

Or -- these modern kids need to toughen up

Yes. Chicken wire rusts...badly. It's good for about seven or eight years here in the north, but then there are pieces scattered everywhere.

I'd advise against a permanent type of application. This was my mid-summer's nightmare this year.






If it's low enough to stop the rabbits the weeds, grass and displaced soil will trap the bottom portion, making it extremely difficult to remove. You can't mow under it and it's almost impossible to keep up with weeding it out by hand, so something like Roundup will probably be necessary at some point.