My neighbour's cat. I want to be able to grow vegetables without worrying that they're going to be pooped on and pose a health risk. So far, the only 100% effective way I've found to keep the cat off my vegetable beds is to net them, which looks ugly and means I can't enjoy the aesthetic qualities of my garden anymore. I am trialling other methods, but so far not as good at the job.
An effective, humane, visually pleasing method of keeping the cat away whilst not deterring natural wildlife would be great. A huge ask, but something that would be brilliant if it could be achieved!
And don't get me wrong, I love cats, just not when they're pooping all over my vegetables.
Also, sorry if this doesn't quite follow your brief, as it's more about an external influence rather than the growing of the plant itself, but it's the one true gripe that I've had all year. Otherwise, all the other aspects of growing things have been an interesting learning curve for me. In contrast, the whiff of cat poo as I shovel it into a bin bag is enough to make me puke.
Plants that turn out to be the wrong colour because the labelling was wrong, eg the daffodil bulbs I bought that were labelled as Thalia but turned out to be Minnow (or something very like it). Serves me right for buying cheap from a supermarket I suppose, and they're still nice so only a minor irritation really.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I agree wholeheartedly with Pete.8 about a better tap on water butts.
Other things I would like are 1. A low priced but accurate soil pH test kit. 2. An ecologically acceptable yet effective snail repellent. 3. Much taller plant support hoops. 4. Bird feeders that don’t get clogged up, resist squirrels, allow smaller and bigger birds to play nicely and send a message to my phone when something unusual lands on them. 5. Oxygenating plants that live for more than a few weeks in my pond. 6. A drone that could locate the juniper plant in my neighbourhood that is the cause of pear rust in my garden. The drone would then have a juniper-specific Exocet attached. 7. A pathogen that destroys begonias and double daffodils 8. An alert connected to the phone that reminds me when the greenhouse door has not been opened in the morning or closed at night.
One of my frustrations is the time it takes to fill a watering can from a water butt. They all seem to have the same small-bore taps on them. If there was a tap kit with a 1" (for example) bore my watering can would fill about 75% faster and I could get the watering done 75% faster. I know the lid can be removed and I could dunk the can, but some of mine have the downpipe going through the lid, so taking the top off is a right faff.
I agree with @Grannybee too, but maybe altering the weather is a bit ambitious perhaps the tap would be easier!
Thanks @Rubytoo that's is well worth considering! I've often searched for such a thing, but with no luck. £13 is pricey for a butt tap and I see they were being sold for £8 a few months ago. I don't need it atm, so will keep an eye on the price and get one soon as the price drops again - then it'll be a bargain, sort of
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Maybe I'm thick, but I can't see how any of this is useful. There's a vast range of issues and problems which can affect growing plants. Perhaps the OP could enlighten us as to how all this info will be put into practice. What exactly is the product you're designing @productdesignplants ?
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Tools with REALLY brightly coloured handles so that you can find them easily when you lose them in the garden.
I agree! I had the idea of using bright yellow nail varnish on the handles of various gardening tools I have which mostly seem to have green or brown handles. It has worked a treat and I can spot the hand fork, trowel, pruning saw etc now fairly easily before it ends up in the compost bin and I spend hours searching for it. After several years I've not lost any and the nail varnish is still bright enough not to need a fresh coat yet.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Posts
An effective, humane, visually pleasing method of keeping the cat away whilst not deterring natural wildlife would be great. A huge ask, but something that would be brilliant if it could be achieved!
And don't get me wrong, I love cats, just not when they're pooping all over my vegetables.
Also, sorry if this doesn't quite follow your brief, as it's more about an external influence rather than the growing of the plant itself, but it's the one true gripe that I've had all year. Otherwise, all the other aspects of growing things have been an interesting learning curve for me. In contrast, the whiff of cat poo as I shovel it into a bin bag is enough to make me puke.
Other things I would like are
1. A low priced but accurate soil pH test kit.
2. An ecologically acceptable yet effective snail repellent.
3. Much taller plant support hoops.
4. Bird feeders that don’t get clogged up, resist squirrels, allow smaller and bigger birds to play nicely and send a message to my phone when something unusual lands on them.
5. Oxygenating plants that live for more than a few weeks in my pond.
6. A drone that could locate the juniper plant in my neighbourhood that is the cause of pear rust in my garden. The drone would then have a juniper-specific Exocet attached.
7. A pathogen that destroys begonias and double daffodils
8. An alert connected to the phone that reminds me when the greenhouse door has not been opened in the morning or closed at night.
Pete.8. Don't know if the above link would be worth a try...£12.99 and free del, might be worth a punt.
£13 is pricey for a butt tap and I see they were being sold for £8 a few months ago.
I don't need it atm, so will keep an eye on the price and get one soon as the price drops again - then it'll be a bargain, sort of
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Perhaps the OP could enlighten us as to how all this info will be put into practice. What exactly is the product you're designing @productdesignplants ?
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I had the idea of using bright yellow nail varnish on the handles of various gardening tools I have which mostly seem to have green or brown handles.
It has worked a treat and I can spot the hand fork, trowel, pruning saw etc now fairly easily before it ends up in the compost bin and I spend hours searching for it.
After several years I've not lost any and the nail varnish is still bright enough not to need a fresh coat yet.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.