Cat Deterrents for your Garden: Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), a deterrent that works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. They're great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. If the cats have owners, talk to them without being confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are and how nature intended them to participate in this world.� After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'. * amonia soaked (corncobs, etc) * aluminum foil * bamboo skewers * black pepper * blood meal fertilizer * bramble cuttings * Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp * catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards) * cedar compost * chicken wire (metal or plastic) * cinnamon * citrus peels * citrus spray * cocoa bean shells * coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed, not just a light sprinkling (highly recommended by MANY Gardenwebbers!) * dogs * electric fence for animals * essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils) * fresh manure(ditto) * garlic cloves * gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree * gutter covers * hardware cloth * heavy bark mulch * holly leaves * keep the area damp, they like dry soil * lavender * liquid manure (good for your garden too) * motion sensor sprinkler * pennyroyal * pinecones * pipe tobacco * plastic forks * predator urine * red wine vinegar * river rocks over the exposed soil * rocks, crushed * rose bush clippings * rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only) * short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart * six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up) * Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water * squirt gun with water * talk to your neighbors * tansy * thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings * toothpicks * upside down vinyl carpet * vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam * water bottle on "stream" NOT RECOMMENDED: *** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this. Even if it's one cat out of 500 infected in this way, that's one too many for me. *** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your own garden soil. Their packaging even warns against using them this way. Give them their own areas: (To keep them out of where you don't want them) (If you don't mind them protecting your garden from other critters) + pick the cat up and bring it to eye level with the plant to see and smell it up close. She noted that once her cat has seen and sniffed at the plant, she usually doesn't bother with it later. + give them their own plants - i.e., pots of grass for her to chew on and a place in a large planted container on her balcony with some miscanthus grass in it (the cat likes to curl up in that for some reason) + if the cats are strictly indoors and attracted to your houseplants, grow catgrass for them. If someone forced you to remain inside one enclosed structure all your life, you might be attracted to the plants too. + Barley Grass + Any type of "catgrass" from the pet store + Carex elata 'Bolwes Golden' but put it in some shade + Catmint Nepeta mussinicultivars (Simply put, Catmints are Catnips without any culinary or feline use. In any case, they are, however, phenomenal, long flowering, hardy perennials that belong in every fairie or flower garden.) + Catnip Nepeta cataria (in your own yard) The oils of which also work as a mosquito repellent that works 10 times better than Deet! Catmint is the common name for all varieties of Nepeta. Catnip is the common name for the specific variety of Nepeta called nepeta cataria, which is the variety that cats are most attracted to. + Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum) + Flax + Oat Grass + Jacob's Ladder + Lemon Grass + Loose soil and mulch like small bark mulch + Mints + Purple Fountain Grass so the cat lays in the long leaves all day. Maybe put something in that the cats really like and - you know cats won't winky were they like to hang out. + Sandy area + Silver vine (Actinidia polygama) + Striped Ribbon Grass (can be invasive) + Sweet grass + Trificum aestivum (type of cat grass) + Various Varieties of Cat Mints (Catnips) + Wheat Grass + Wheat Berries + Valerian This list compiled by Violet_Z6, email at violet_z6@yahoo.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.

My DS & I spent a few hours this weekend creating a way to use the wash water outside. Our biggest hurtle was getting the water "up" to the ground. Our washer is in the basement below ground level. Here's what we did: Bought a 55 gallon drum. Set it next to the washer. We use the existing hole to put the washer hose in. We cut a hole in the top that was big enough to drop a utility pump into (Be sure to cover the hole so nothing falls in!). We then attached a regular garden type sillcock to the outside of the house. On the inside of this sillcock is a section of garden hose that attaches to the utility pump. When we want to save the water from the wash, we put the washer hose into the drum. When the load is finished I attach the section of garden hose to the pump, drop it into the drum & plug it in. I then use a garden hose that is attached to the outer side of the sillcock to direct the water to where ever I want it. Cost of this project: $10 for drum, $3.59 for sillcock, $7.94 for garden hose, $.59 for extra garden hose end, $57.00 for utility pump. Total $79.12. I already owned the utility pump, bought it last year for my rain barrels. Lessons learned: If you buy a utility pump spend the extra $10 & get one with a float switch. Mine has no switch at all, it is strictly plug-in & un-plug. That means someone has to stand & watch it, because if the pump runs without water for very long it will burn up. Keep the washer hose out of the water, other wise it will suck the used water back into the washer machine. Use some screens to filter out the lint. I use one on the end of the washer hose, one over the end of the pump & another on the outside garden hose. This is so I can use the water in my soaker hoses if I want too. This was a very easy project that almost anyone can do. We were surprised at how much water is used, about 35-40 gallons for a single load. ThatÂs a lot of water for the gardens! If a person wanted to, they could set up some drums outside & drain the washer water into them so the water could be used in the future. If my rain barrels run empty during the summer, I can refill them with washer water if I need too.

Ann t.......Our Peameal Bacon and Canadian Bacon are our home cure. I got interested in curing and smoking the pork loins from a post last summer from annie 1992. Quite a lengthy thread it was. I really doubt that "our Peameal Bacon" is anything close to yours in Canada. We tried tho and are pleased. The canadian bacon and peameal verison reminded me of the pork my grandparents cured way back when I was a kid about a hundred years ago. I have thought if I could find on the internet I would order, have never pursued that yet. Any suggestions? I too droll over all the posted pics of all breads baked and unbaked. Shirl

Here's a recipe for simple peanut butter biscuits, the dogs really love them because they smell very peanut-y: 1 cup unsweetened natural peanut butter (I get it at the bulk food store) 1 cup skim milk (I usually use 2%, and you can use water if your dog is lactose intolerant) 2 cups flour 1 tablespoon baking powder Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix together peanut butter and milk until smooth. Mix baking powder and flour together, then gradually add to the peanut butter mixture. Knead until dough is smooth. Roll out to 1/4" think and cut with cookie cutters. Place on GREASED cookie sheet (I used parchment paper, no grease) and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. The biscuits are a bit soft when you follow the recipe exactly, but I usually make them a little thinner and either bake a little longer or turn off the oven and leave them in for a few minutes like that.