Speaking of dollar store finds for the garden, this came up in my FB feed/ads - it’s a little cumbersome but for a big garden may work
Dollar store hamper!
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Awesome! That will take care of the problem of the birds eating my alpine strawberries.
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(whine)
It was 113 here on Independence Day. BLEH! Have to water my non-native stuff daily right now. It’s going to 110 or higher for the next week! NO THANK YOU! 
At least the luffa vine and the bamboo is loving the heat. And the moringa tree. And the tamarind tree. And the sunflowers. And the acacia tree. At least it feels 10+ degrees cooler in the shade.
Ok, calmed myself down. Jealous of other people’s cooler temps in other locales!
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Wish I could buy somthing like that to cover my garden beds. I have an ongoing fight with the deer–despite the fact that we have 6 ft wire fencing in my two garden beds, the deer managed to poke their heads in and bite off the tops of 4 tomato plants (Amish Paste). We’re now reinforcing the existing fencing with chicken wire.
Anyone have advice for keeping raccoons out of a garden fountain? For the second time this summer, they’ve knocked over our fountain in the night, this time chipping off a large piece and disconnecting the whole unit (which was a PIA to get together). I’ve read everything from putting in spikes, to electric fences (which I’m not going to do), to light deterrents. Has anyone had any luck with any of these items or have other suggestions?
Have you tried blinking red “eyes”?
It’s on the list of potential solutions! Just wondering if anyone here has actually tried anything themselves.
We just had an email from our horticulturalist at the community garden I belong to. Deer are exactly as @Bromfield2 described - managing their way into gardens to chomp off tomatoes.
These are a few of the organic solutions they recommended. Haven’t tried myself - but one person noted to read directions because one of them (?) was not recommended if you were harvesting in the next couple of weeks
Most not good just for deer but many critters!
The “eyes” seem to keep deer out of the planters for us. Raccoons also steer clear of the side of the yard where the “eyes”
are according to what our security camera shows. I’d give them a shot. Small, not as unsightly as electric fence, and cheap. $30 at Amazon.
ETA: this is what we bought.
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Thank you!
How do you know what direction to point the eyes in (or do they come in multipacks)? I’m not sure from what direction they are entering our yard.
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Yes, they are sold in multi pack. I’d place them around the fountain at about a raccoon’s height. I read that you need to move them around periodically to make them appear “alive.” The eyes are solar powered; work well even in Seattle’s gloomy climate.
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Oh my gosh, I’ve never heard of these!!! 
It’s wineberry time!! It’s great when mother nature provides. I have these all along my driveway in the edge of the wood line. It’s common to pick a quart or so a day while they last. I like them as a snack, in smoothies, fruit tarts and I may try to make some jam.
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Monsoon storms are coming this week. Glad that our city has bulk trash pick up every 6 weeks because this morning, I did some preventative tree pruning before the wind arrives!
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Good timing. Hope your gardens do ok in the weather.
We opt for “compost” bin, alternate week pickups. It’s 6 gallons, yard waste and branches (up to 6” thick) accepted. It’s amazing how much goes in there non-winter months since we our yard is less than .25 acre. I do now feel badly about all the stuff we used to throw in the regular trash bin.
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Thanks for the reminder on the raspberries! Yours look amazing. I have a small producing bush kind of behind the garage and I need to go check!
I spent HOURS today weeding and trimming a whole line of bushes in our front yard. Grateful for a mild day with not too much sun - though tiring it was pleasant! Many more bushes to go but hopefully H will help a bit this week.
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Wow, at least your invasive species have tasty, edible berries! 
Ours - the nasty Himalayan blackberries we oftentimes fight - produce watery and seed-packed berries that have almost zero taste.
soon…
Just wanted to circle back. I didn’t realize that the “eyes” were solar. We have so much shade in our yard that solar products don’t work and I couldn’t find any that were battery powered.
Someone else recommended putting down plastic animal “spikes”. So far so good. Now I’m wondering if that would keep the rabbits out of my hostas!
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I’ve had two red tomatoes already! Seems early but this plant wanted to get going. I pinched blooms for a bit and then just let it go.
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