Anyone else devastated

[myotherface]

By the end of the gardening season? Even the gardeners world finishing for the winter feels upsetting. I've only discovered gardening last year but it's one of the biggest things to help with my mental health. Trying to find something else that would feel similar and keep me afloat but struggling.. At least there's still mulching and planting of bulbs but even that won't last forever.. Anyone else feels this way and have you find any good winter replacement?

Smash mash kills them too...not sure about otters though.

They have a very acute sense of smell, pepper, peppermint oil, citronella, mint. They don’t like it.

Dhalia
I have to disagree with you there
the rats that live in my compost heap cat TV and utterly under control
collect citrus peel and line their nest chambers with it

• we find them when we dig it out each year

I tried the smell approach - didn’t do a thing. I suspect onions pushed in their burrow hole, alongside the steel wool and concrete, will be better than smash flakes? I’m things that the smash will swell before they eat it and won’t dehydrate the buggers. (Rats not otters)
The otters are cute although noisy when they play alongside the boat. They are welcome to stay as they clear the hill of fresh water mussels. 😆

I’m confused...I didn’t suggest citrus peel?

I put the smash under cover.

Get a greenhouse. Or even a cold frame. It’s time your sweet peas were in for next year! I grow iceberg lettuce right through the winter in the greenhouse, some even grow outdoors. Paint the fence on dry days. Put up trellis. Dig up the weeds. Plant bare root roses. It’s a good time to dig out your new beds for next year while the ground is soft and wet. Snowdrops are already beginning to flower, I have loads of varieties. Gardening never stops!

I could top up the bait boxes with smash ..... do slugs also have a fatal reaction? Big plus if they do.

😂 I have no idea about slugs.

The instant mash works when they feast on it and have a drink, it expands and they die instantly.

I set mine up in a feeding station in the greenhouse, under a cage. To keep the good creatures safe.

I hate rats😬

I know what you mean. We have a lot of cottage borders and rhododendrons that look amazing in spring, that's the best time in our garden. But everything is looking sad now even though we had a good tidy-up a few weeks ago. This putting the garden to bed for the winter business is a bit depressing but it's quite satisfying to be weeding and actually feeling like you're winning, rather than when it's warm and they come back up when you turn your back. Maybe concentrate on getting the weeds and leaves away, and really get the soil quality so that you have a great display next year. You can also move shrubs about now where you can't before. And focus too on garden furniture renovation/fences/jet wash paths etc. Put feel-good music on your headphones while you work and reward yourself with a hot chocolate and Baileys before you take a soak in the bath. Make it special!

Guess what I’ve put on the Tesco order..... (other supermarkets are available)🤣🤣

Thank you Moon I knew there was a reason not to grow them ( I have enough jobs to do around now without extra bringing in of dahlias).

Barge Such a shame to kill the rats on the riverside the poison will kill other more welcome creatures too, it's the rats' natural environment. They do help to keep places clean too. Have you tried putting down cinammon? All the rodents hate it and just go away somewhere else

They are welcome to stay as they clear the hill of fresh water mussels. I trust you mean "hull" I thought I'd read somewhere there were concerns about declining fresh water mussel numbers.

This putting the garden to bed for the winter business is a bit depressing but it's quite satisfying to be weeding and actually feeling like you're winning, I was reading a gardening article in Plantlife magazine. One thing being recommended was not to disturb the soil at this time of year because of disturbing microorgansims which are important to plant health. They were suggesting mulching instead to control weeds. I don't thik that's going to happen. Having not weeded since about June it's going to take more than a mulch.

They also advise against too much of an autumn tidy up because hollow stems are important for hibernating creatures.

There is stuff to do out there in winter every single day, I can't do it as I have a bad back so I'm looking out there all the time watching my garden gradually go wild.

Just reading this quietly from the background. Enjoying reading all of your comments about winter gardening though. My depression has upped a notch and it's hard to even be active in a discussion. I've also decided to have another attempt at convincing my DH that we should divorce. Meaning obviously that I would lose my lovely garden. Although to be completely honest I feel like I'd like to have a smaller and more manageable garden. But now planting for the spring feels a bit pointless.. Although selling the house and a divorce going through will probably take quite a while even if he does agree to do it.

@ppeatfruit
Believe me if you knew just how many rats there are you would not feel the same. Plus one rat on a boat can cause thousands of pounds of damage in just one night. Having had several friends die of weills disease, you do not think of rats as friendly when they pee continuously and can contaminate your only
water supply.
The bait used doesn’t affect other animals - even if the rat is consumed by another animal - not that they are, they get double bagged and binned. It doesn’t even affect the slugs which have taken up residence in the bait boxes.

@MereDintofPandiculation
🤣 well spotted yes hull! Fresh water mussels are cleared from nearly every canal boat when they are blacked, every two years. They clog impellers and foul props. If a boat is stationary for any length of time it will have mussels attached. The action of a boat moving will eventually clear them from anodes but not bow thrusters.

I suppose the mussels are bigger than barnacles, Barge I hadn't thought about the difficulties of living on the water ,only that I get seasick on a pleasure boat unless I take ginger and mint ALL the time

Meaning obviously that I would lose my lovely garden. What convinced me to leave my first partner was the sudden realisation that the only thing I'd miss was my broad beans. Luckily, it was only 9 months before I got my next garden.

Yes, I understand planting for the spring feeling pointless - what about planting for instant impact? bedding plants almost in flower, for example? If they're not intended for long term, it doesn't matter if you can't summon up the energy to look after them.

@Bargebill19 Thanks for the explanation. In a previous life I advised on the experimental design for testing various historical anti-fouling treatments on a sailing trip of a replica historical boat. At the time I presumed it was largely about reducing drag, I didn't consider the other problems.

@MoonlightInVermont

Don’t be too impressed, Chottie, I found a measly three stems!

That's fine. My dahlias are coming to an end too. I have put them in a china jug which belonged to my mother with some greenery from the garden. Every time I pass by them, I get a little boost :)

@ppeatfruit

I live in the SE and just leave my dahlias in the ground all year. I have just cut them down and covered them with an enriching mulch. I will do nothing to them until next year when I build a support system as they start to come up.

I dig up my dahlias because otherwise the slugs get them by eating all the little shoots. I make it a bit easier all round by planting tulips in the holes.

I'll try Chottie Is it best to buy the corms or buy them bareroot (if you can?). I'm in MW fr. sometimes we get frost though.

@ppeatfruit

Our dahlias grow from corms, this is their third summer.

Thanks I might try! Chottie

@Myotherface

Just reading this quietly from the background. Enjoying reading all of your comments about winter gardening though. My depression has upped a notch and it's hard to even be active in a discussion. I've also decided to have another attempt at convincing my DH that we should divorce. Meaning obviously that I would lose my lovely garden. Although to be completely honest I feel like I'd like to have a smaller and more manageable garden. But now planting for the spring feels a bit pointless.. Although selling the house and a divorce going through will probably take quite a while even if he does agree to do it.

hi @Myotherface that was sad to read... Sorry about your depression. I've found gardening wonderful for my mental health... Are you managing to get out in your garden at all? I've spent the morning tidying up and potting up spring bulbs. Could you plant some pots that you could take with you if necessary. I love the expression 'to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow'. xxx

itsmeagain Yes agree with you. Sorry Myotherface Good luck