These grasshoppers were totally destroying my basil, Brussels sprouts, beans and even tomatoes. I used my best parenting skills and went through my mental steps;
1. Ignore it
2. Blame it on someone
3. Ask a professional & do the opposite!!
4. Ask the advice of someone who lived in the 1930s
My steps brought me to this solution:
I tried to talk the family into raising turkeys last year, but they thought we'd already bitten off as much as we could chew for the year as far as animals were concerned. As you know from a previous post, this is my second batch of turkeys (the last batch lived a whole 3 days before the cats killed them all) !!!
These guys & gals live in the garden and eat an unbelievable amount of grasshoppers. It's just as impressive as I thought it would be, and it has proven to be really a fun adventure. These turkeys are so entertaining to watch and they saved my garden, allowing me to get another month of baskets picked.
NEW PROBLEM....
Turkey population fell from five to two last week when an unknown predator captured & ate three of the pack. These two must have been clever enough to escape.
I was so sad to see those two looking and calling for their not-so-clever mates, but thankful that we still had enough for our family's Thanksgiving dinner.
The predator returned the next night to steal half of my thankfulness!!! One turkey remains. Looks like there will NOT be the traditional second turkey for leftovers. Aaaaahhhhh!!!! I'm sure we would hate the meat of coyote or fox, but shooting it would be very fulfilling for me.
SOLUTION:
I have now placed the last bird in the electric fence with the chickens. They all still have plenty of space to move and bugs to eat, but I miss them being on the garden. They are SO COOL to watch!!
The best statement came from one of my sassy family members...
"You sure are going to a lot of trouble to save an animal you plan to kill in 3 weeks."
Yep. That one can make his own Thanksgiving feast.
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