Arum berry eaters?

[Addison & Richardson]

Mike,
Don't know what kind of gardening year you have had , up here it has
been hell.  While it has cooled down (5 C) this morning, we have had
scorching heat, wind, frequent high humidity and basically very little rain
since the beginning of June....everything is stressed here, including this
gardener.  Things are bone dry  and it is painful to see things.  And seeds
are being eaten at an unprecedented rate.....even green ones.  I went into
our woods yesterday to check on things and only 3 ginseng plants (Panex
quinquefolium  sp? )had green seeds left on them (we probably have about
12-15 maybe more).
We have more critters than you do (black, red and gray squirrels,
raccoons, procupines, skunks, snowshoe hares, rare gopher - but no deer
since the entire property [about 5 acres] is fenced with 6'chain link
drilled into rock - and because of the surround woods and scrub juniers the
deer can get a running jump to get over it.) Chipmunks have virtually eaten
all of our secies tulips, not to mnetion regular tulips and all the
frittilaria as well...There are insects I have never seen and insects on
plants that have never had problems...here everything seems thirsty , at
least that is my present explanation...
So yeserday I put blood meal around the remaining ginseng seeds and
anything else I wanted to protect...we'll see if it works.  Og course I did
not put on any special protection while doing t - have heard that perhaps
one should since blood meal may now carry mad cow's disease....oh well, the
angers of gardening....
will be curious to ear other people's experience with all of this.
Lois Addison
bedrock.gardeners at sympatico.ca
Dunrobin, Ontario (35 miles west of Ottawa)