Horsetail weed
I would like to know if you know how to get rid of horsetail weed in the garden. Have tried everything but keeps coming back. Recently heard that lime may do the trick. Would like your input on this. Just recently bought your “Growing and Canning Your Own Food” book. Can’t wait to put it to good use. By the way you are my favorite at Backwoods Home, I learn so much from you!
Craig Lough
Hawks, Michigan
Why, thank you! And thanks for picking up my book too. Every single sale helps us on our homestead, as I hope it does on yours. I recommend testing your soil with a simple soil testing kit. Usually horsetail only grows in acidic soil so using lime certainly does help the soil to reach a more neutral state. Keep at it and you’ll win the horsetail war. — Jackie
Snakes
Today I discovered a small garter snake in the green house. I asked my husband to please put it outside, he wouldn’t, he said it is good for the green house, to eat bugs. Then I found a lizard in there. Good grief, reptile-ville! If it is good for the GH, I can live with one, don’t want more!
Nancy Hoppe
Cinebar, Washington
I’m a reptile/amphibian lover so I’d like to find your critters in my greenhouse as they help keep down the bug population, which is why they’re in there in the first place. If they really, really freak you out, perhaps you can find a friend or neighbor who would quietly relocate your little buddies. — Jackie
Holly,
I don’t think you’re off your rocker. I often rescue “good” snakes and relocate them in my garden. Here, we don’t have rattlers or other poisonous snakes so we only see garter snakes with a few other odd varieties. The other day our grandkids were visiting and I found a small DeKay’s snake so I caught it and showed it to them, letting them touch and pet it. They were facinated with its flicking red tongue! I don’t want them to grow up to be afraid of snakes. When they get older, of course, I’ll explain about poisonous snakes and how to avoid them.
Deb,
Yep, I do have a snake story! When we lived in New Mexico, we had a small front porch. My late husband, Bob, was sitting in a porch swing enjoying the spring breeze. After awhile, there was a horrible clatter of bird squaking right over his head. Distress! Help! EEEk! He turned and looked over his shoulter and saw a 6′ long bull snake climbing up the porch post toward the bird nest, right over his head. The snake was just straightened out full length, pushing against the post, not coiled around it.
We love the bull snakes because they eat rattlers. And we had plenty. So I grabbed a bucket with a lid and the snake, stuffed him in the bucket and drove him half a mile away to an abandoned old house. We never saw him again and I’m sure he found plenty to eat in his new abode. And the birds were pretty happy to see him go. I usually just shooed them off into the garden but was afraid he’d be quickly back to eat the baby birds.
Friends (but not family) think I’m off my rocker – I will stop the vehicle and chase Bull snakes off the road and on to my property! They will take down the moles/voles in the pasture and they winter with rattlers and will kill their young. I don’t mind the garters or mudpuppies either….they eat crickets, silverfish and other things that sometimes make it into the house. But big ol’ bullsnakes I will try to “herd”! I DO NOT like rattlesnakes!
I have a snake story you might find interesting. We have 40 acres in southeast Ohio. I was working in my garden last week and heard a robin
making a plaintive sound, it’s danger or warning chirp. It was only about thirty feet away near a stand of 15 ft. pine trees we planted 13 years ago.
I went to check to see what was causing her distress and saw no other animal. But as I approached and was about five feet away from the nearest pine tree, I looked up and there was a very large black snake five feet up in the tree and coiled around her nest. I threw my shoes at it and then used a stick to finally get it to move but alas, the eggs were gone. I have never seen a snake in a tree before and wonder if you have had a similar experience Jackie.
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