Raised flower bed vs Cat Poo
NewbiePaul
Posts: 3
Good Morning all.
This is is my first post in here.
I am a 40+ Gardner and just starting out.
I have had my back garden re vamped last December and I have down one side of my gard 5 raised flower beds all about 5ft by 5ft in size.
My first problem is cats. As soon as it was done they seems to think it was an open public toilet.
I have gone to look at my raised beds now as I have bought some plants to sow.
it all looks like it is now full of cat pee and poo. In one of the beds there is even some kind of brown ugly looking fungus growing ????
the soil looks like it is very sandy. Now is that due to the cars turning it that way or is it what the gardeners left?
How do I turn this cat litter soil into something I can plant veg and flowers in?
Was thinking of turning it all over and adding a bag or two of compost?
I have berry olastic wire wire I am going to cover them with once I have re done the beds.
Thank youngor reading ding and for any help hou
can give.
Paul
Posts
Another £1 for me.
Cats are a nightmare.
You should be able to retire now Hosta
It's an ongoing issue discussed at length here NewbiePaul. I've tried every method known to man - from bamboo skewers to chicken wire to lemon peel, and all points in between. The only thing that works is a water scarecrow. You can buy them online.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
lol I can understand that £1 about the cats.
My my post was more asking what can I do with the soil now?
How best to repair it for planting this season.
Paul
Last edited: 18 April 2017 08:58:23
Bin any lumps you can pick up with a trowel, dig the rest in, add compost if the soil needs boosting anyway (won't make much difference to the cat poo) and remember to wear gloves when you're planting stuff in that bed. I probably wouldn't plant carrots in the poo-ey bit, but slower growing root veg like parsnips will probably be still growing long after the cat poo has broken down. I'd still wash any root veg well, just to be on the safe side.
Last edited: 18 April 2017 11:38:49
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Yes, take out the obvious lumps and then fork over the rest to mix it well. Add plenty of organic matter to improve teh sandy soil - cheap bags of multi-purpose compost or soil conditioner sold in DIYs and garden centres. Fork that in too and then cover till you're ready to sow or plant.
I grew veggies happily for several years in a typical 30s sized garden with 7 of our own cats plus 3 next door and more either side. You just need to make sure you wash your hands careful after gardening and also wash any veggies thoroughly before eating. You could try covering veggie beds with weed suppressant membrane or even just sheets of cardboard and planting thru slits made in the form of a cross and then just fold the corners back once you have planted and watered thoroughly.
It would work too for ornamentals but then you'd need an ornamental mulch of chipped bark or slate chippings. Not gravel as cats love that too.
A water scarecrow or a dog permanently on duty are the only effective deterrents.
I have plastic clematis netting "sewn" into squares (using garden wire to join pieces as necessary), exactly the same size as my raised beds. When the soil is prepared or I've sown seeds, I cover the bed with a square of mesh (it's rigid), held down with stones or bricks at the corners, and leave it there until the seedlings are reasonably well established - after which you can remove it., though for things like salad leaves I just let them grow through the mesh. It's worked so far...
I bought a high pitch screamer - £17 from Wilko - it's battery operated (sticks in the ground) and when something gets within 12 metres (or whatever distance) of it, it emits a high frequency noise that is supposed to scare cats away - it worked well for a year
I don't use it now as I have an allotment plot and not growing in beds in the garden
Of course you could always put boarding or netting around or over a raised bed for carrots - up to 18" high to stop carrot fly and also cats!
Hi I am surrounded by cats , my solution is when you prune your rose put the clippings around the bed they don't like that and soon learn to go next door .
As soon as you have conditioned your soil with extra compost (aka: 5 star cat bathroom!) then cover it in net and some spikey leaves (Holly is good). I have often wondered that actually leaving a dedicated small patch somewhere just for cat bathroom purposes might work well! Dogs or toddlers also make good deterrents, although the night shift is often difficult to cover! You never see Monty on GW picking out cat 'leavings'!
Hello all.
Thank you you for all the help and advice.
I will ill look to be doing what you have said.
Somone has has also told me to use Jays fluid 50ml to a 2 ltr watering jug and use that one the beds. It will help clear the damage and also cats don't like the smell?
I have bought the netting and am putting it up tomorrow.
Thanks again.
Paul