The Weirdest Thing We've Done Yet

Hair of the dog as a hangover cure, sure. But what about as protection from garden pests?

We pandemic-purchased an electric dog-hair trimmer this summer when groomers were closed and our dog Belly’s fur was beyond shaggy. Aside from the quarter-sized bald spot I mowed into Belly’s head, the trimmer is really easy to use, and he isn’t bothered by it at all. It seems like something we could have been doing at home all along — except for the hair. Even after a thorough vacuuming or sweeping, we still find errant dog hairs here and there.

But this is a gardening newsletter, not a grooming one, so where’s this going?

A lot of gardening sites suggest using dog hair as a way to keep unwanted critters away from your vegetables and plants. Deer, squirrels, rabbits, foxes, and others will pick up the scent from the pet hair and think a predator is nearby, deterring them from staying for a snack. We have all those hungry eyes and more strutting around here, and while our young garden hasn’t come under their attack yet, I figured some preemptive defense couldn’t hurt.

Jagger and I collected the fur from Belly’s last haircut into a plastic bag and sprinkled handfuls in corners of the garden and along the fence line. None of it is touching any produce — promise. But even if it was? Any initial hesitation I had about, you know, putting MY DOG’S HAIR ON THINGS I WAS GROWING TO EAT quickly faded. Growing vegetables is dirty, literally dirty, what with the soil and compost and manure and all. That’s why we wash what we grow before we eat it, right?

Update on what’s growing

• French breakfast radishes. Really turned a corner this week. I had been worried that they were developing leafy tops but no radish bulbs in the roots. Then all of a sudden, their stems got noticeably thicker, and I am seeing some little baby radishes start to plump up. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that next week’s Tiny Seeds may very well have some harvested radish pics in here.

• Strike peas. Now standing about 8” tall, with sturdy stems, ladders of green leaves, and thin wispy tendrils. My planting guide says these won’t be ready to harvest until around Oct. 23, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some baby peas pop out before then.

• Gai lan. I mentioned in last week’s post that the vegetables in the east side of our garden (radishes, peas, gai lan) were performing better than those in the west side (chard, lettuce, carrots, beets). That continues to be the case, and the gai lan (Chinese broccoli) has developed into distinct heads with 3-6 long leaves each. They still have another month or so before they look like this, but I’m hopeful after reading Pittsburgh horticulturist Jessica Walliser’s post that gai lan can keep growing in our climate well into the winter.

• Dill. The lone underperformer in the garden’s east village. Sad. We have about a dozen seedlings that are about 4” with those distinctive dill leaves. But they’re just not growing very well. I read that dill grows best when you let it get a little thirsty between waterings, so I’ve cut back on watering it to about two or three times a week.

• French babette carrots. These are looking very much like the dill seedlings: miniature versions of what their full-grown selves should be. I’m worried the soil under the carrots is too compact or too studded with rocks for them really take root. Or perhaps I didn’t thin them out enough. Or maybe they just need more time.

• Amish deer tongue lettuce. After thinning, we have about 10 heads growing among four small rows. They’re not strong and upright yet, rather limp and delicate. But there are leaves, and they do look like little deer tongues. So, hopeful optimism here.

• Peppermint Swiss chard. Not doing great! The slowest to get going so far. I’m not writing it off yet, but the outlook is dim.

• Chiogga beets. I’m hoping the beets go the same route as the radishes and start to plump up beneath the surface in the next week or so. Harvest for these isn’t supposed to be until late October, so they have some time. They are showing steady progress and are currently about 5” with pink-purple stems and growing green leaves.

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  Until next time

  Thank you for reading. Please share Tiny Seeds on social media or send it to a friend if you wanna. And enjoy this pic of Jagger in a skillet with his favorite basting brush.