A gentle way to keep the rabbits from eating in your garden.

[NCarolinawoman]

Rabbits like almost anything green in the spring, summer and fall--including poison Ivy!

I love my wild cottontails, but I also enjoy what I grow. Sooo, several years ago I was reading North Carolina wildlife magazine and they listed a rabbit's three all time favorite foods, in this order

#1 Crabgrass
#2 Alfalfa
#3 White clover

I had a very big yard at the time, so this is what I planted in a certain
section of it. The crabgrass and clover in the summer. The alfalfa is planted in the fall and will be there into the spring. Also in the fall, I threw in some rye grass as another cover crop and let it grow un mowed. Rye grass fades out in the hot weather. You turn the alfalfa under (what's left of it) and it enriches the soil.

This area became THEE favorite place for the bunnies to hang out.

[NJCher]

1. thanks for the tip, NCarolinawoman

Did you do anything to keep the crab grass from seeding? Or does it spread by running--can't remember.

Anyway, I love the idea that there's someone out there planting for the bunnies.


Cher

[NCarolinawoman]

3. It's a fairly prolific seeder.

It grows in lot of areas where more "politically correct" grasses will not grow. Drought tolerant and doesn't mind poor soil. You can actually order seeds on line because farmers consider it a very nutritious foraging grass.

From my point of view, it never was invasive. I didn't plant it in the front yard. which was mostly pine trees, oaks, dogwoods etc. I think crabgrass likes sun. Doesn't grow too high, unlike the rye grass, which is lush in winter, but which basically looks like hay at the beginning of summer.

Oh, I never ordered crabgrass seeds--it just appeared, which is seems to do all over the place. I heard complaints about it all through my childhood. LOL

[Curmudgeoness]

2. What a good idea.

I don't have the room for all of that, but since I don't use any weed killers, I have lots of crabgrass and clover. I also plant my "garden" in pots, and that seems to discourage the bunnies as well.

[NCarolinawoman]

4. I remember the photos of your yard, and I loved what I saw.

I'm still wondering if you got your electric lawn mower.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Thanks. The yard has been pretty wet this year.

Mosquitos are breeding in the dirt it is so wet, so they are keeping me from enjoying it so much this year (at least so far).

Wonder no more...I did get an electric lawn mower. And it is the cutest little thing. I just love it. The only down side is that the battery only lasts about 25 minutes, and it takes me about 40 minutes to do the yard. Luckily, the battery recharges in about one half hour so that I can just do something else for a while so the battery charges.

This is the mower that I ended up getting:

?preset=Product.ProductDetails

http://www.stihlusa.com/products/lawn-mower/homeowner-lawn-mower/rma370/

[NCarolinawoman]

6. Mine was a Black and Decker bought 15 years ago.

It was shaped a bit like an elongated mushroom, was small and only did the basics which was cutting. Also, was easy to adjust to different height levels.

I never remember it giving out of energy while using it, but maybe that was because I only used it for the front yard. Like you say, the re-charge would have been no hassle--just a walk up the driveway into the carport and recharged it rather quickly. We figured that leaving it plugged in all the time cost us less than $5.00 a month. No gas, no fumes to walk behind, start with the touch of a finger, and so quiet I could hear the birds singing while I mowed.

Sadly I had to downsize my lifestyle to a townhouse where they use those huge noisy sit-on mowers. I gave my electric mower to my brother who still uses and loves it.

[Curmudgeoness]

7. Oh, the noise of those tractor mowers!

I know what you mean about them. There are only two of us in my neighborhood who still mow our grass...all the others pay to have it done with tractors and weed eaters and leaf blowers all running at the same time. Ugh.

I really do love this mower. It has limitations, like how wide it is (not very), but it is so lightweight and it really is sturdy even though it reminds me of a little toy mower. But this was the only mower that was everything that I wanted. I did look at all the other electric and battery mowers, but this one was by far the lightest. And since I have to get it up a steep hill, that mattered.

I guess that you are lucky to not have to deal with all of this anymore!

[NCarolinawoman]

8. video of my brother's chickens grazing on crabgrass

very short clip.

http://vid46.photobucket.com/albums/f114/davidstephens88/Chicks%20in%20the%20crabgrass_zpseetktc0h.mp4