Viva Pinata Gardening + Update

Years ago, I was totally addicted to Viva Pinata.  I've never been interested in video games and still don't care for them but this particular game was different.  There was no shooting or killing of other people or zombies, you planted a garden and attracted pinata animals and insects.  Then you proceeded to nurture your plants and animals and from the produce you grew or the baby animals you raised you could sell them to make money.  It was fun because when you had the right amount of plants or the right types of plants, you could attract animals, which in turn attracted other animals, etc. etc. I played for a while until the new version came out and pretty much lost interest because I wanted to do it for REAL!  I honestly feel that working with nature is better then working against it and like in Viva Pinata, I really wanted to grow a garden that attracted beneficial insects and animals with the plants I grew.   I know in a previous post, I was thinking of fencing off my garden and I do see the necessity in it (even in Viva Pinata, you can buy fencing materials).  I did have to finally fence off my sunflower and cosmos beds since the baby bunnies were 1) using it as a race track and just running back and forth in it and 2) they LOVED eating my cosmos to the point where there were bald spots in the beds.  I finally had enough and it was time to discipline the bunnies.

But then, it was weird.  The bunnies just stopped being naughty and just started coming into the yard to feed on the clovers.  They even stopped nibbling my carrot tops and the last of the lettuces.  They come every night and hang out between the beds but they stay out of them. I did catch one of them nibbling on my pole bean plant the other day but I just scolded him/her and covered the patch with a big row cover and that was that.

So, as you can see, I still have no fence and probably won't put up a fence.

Other gardens in the area are completely fenced off like a mini fortress.  I really feel that approaching gardening with the 'Viva Pinata' philosophy will produce a lot less stress because I won't have to do so much work.   For instance, I don't use bird netting because I realized that the birds were keeping the insect population down.  Robins, crows, blackbirds, bluejays, they are all free to come and go in the yard and I have to say, I don't have a whole lot of issues with mosquitoes this summer nor have my crops been ravaged.  The only plant that I had to kill because of an insect infestation was my sugar snap peas and unfortunately, they were already stressed by the bunny attack and the super hot weather. The poor peas were infested with mites and it only took 1 day for the plants to die. :-( 

Oh and look!  Duh! I found a water source outside.  I knew it was there but assumed it didn't work because the knob was all rusty looking.  I bought a hose so I'm good now.

Last weekend it was blazing hot.  So unbearably hot that the squirrels and chipmunks had to steal a couple of unripe tomatoes to quench their thirst.  I have no problems sharing (it's the reason why I have 6 tomato plants) but I did worry that more tomatoes would start disappearing.  Then this week, this guy showed up...

and no more tomatoes have been stolen so far. The day after seeing the kitty, the boy looked out into the yard and there were no critters, not even a bird in the yard.  He went outside and on the roof was a hawk checking things out.

Here's how my garden is doing half-way into the season now.  My Orangeglo heirloom watermelons are taking over the yard and produced 3 melons so far....

My zucchini plants.  Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to harvest zucchinis due to pollination problems.  It's just been way too hot and I think I planted them a little too late.

Cucumbers.  I've harvested 4 cucumbers total!  These are a bush variety of pickling cucumbers.  They are SOOOO good raw that I may not have any left for pickling. The striped and spotted cucumber beetles have shown up but I've been able to go out in the mornings and hand pick them to drown in a bucket of water.  In order to keep the beetles under control early on, I drenched the soil with neem oil after the seedlings sprouted and with the first signs of the beetles now, I started to spray my zucchini and cucumber plants with neem oil in the evenings. The neem oil should help prevent the beetles from reproducing and keep the plants from wilt and mosaic virus disease.

I have 1 corn left.  Last weeks storms blew the last 2 stalks down.  I'll probably hand-pollinate the corn if it survives.  The pole beans and winter squash are doing well, and I just installed bamboo supports for the pole beans.

Both the Korean peppers and paprika peppers have fruited...

 

For a garden completely unfenced and with minimal barriers of any kind, I think it's gone well. I've only used neem oil, diatomaceous earth, Bt (very minimally) and row covers to protect plants as needed. I've companion planted and attracted beneficial insects and NOW with the all of the small critter activity, may have a resident kitty and hawk!! Just like Viva Pinata!! Of course, I have no control over some things like tornadoes, but so far, Mother Nature has totally helped me out this year.  I'm hoping she'll do the same when I plant in the fall!