My wife says the neighbor is stealing her hollyhocks. She is probably
correct. The holes are clean, like from an English hand trowel, no
foot prints around them. What is left of her seedlings in a hole
2"wide by 3" deep. They were randomly planted amidst scattered other
species. My wife is not into symmetry. So... if they were stolen by
a human, the thief had to know exactly what the baby plant looks like.

I read somewhere that baby plants are eaten down by rabbits but they
do not dig holes. Red and gray squirrels eat bulbs .. not rooted
planted as best I can tell.

So .. it seems there is an 80% chance she is correct and maybe
there is a 20% chance squirrels are doing it, but do not leave digging
mounds and not tracks?

TotallyHomey writes:

My wife says the neighbor is stealing her hollyhocks. She is probably
correct.

Strange thing to steal.

The holes are clean, like from an English hand trowel, no
foot prints around them. What is left of her seedlings in a hole
2"wide by 3" deep. They were randomly planted amidst scattered other
species. My wife is not into symmetry. So... if they were stolen by
a human, the thief had to know exactly what the baby plant looks like.

I read somewhere that baby plants are eaten down by rabbits but they
do not dig holes. Red and gray squirrels eat bulbs .. not rooted
planted as best I can tell.

Were they planted long? Perhaps a deer took a bite and the whole plant
came out? They wouldn't eat the root though.

So .. it seems there is an 80% chance she is correct and maybe
there is a 20% chance squirrels are doing it, but do not leave digging
mounds and not tracks?

Is this a crazy neighbor? I'd only come up with 80% for a crazy
neighbor.

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:50:57 -0400, wrote:

TotallyHomey writes:

My wife says the neighbor is stealing her hollyhocks. She is probably
correct.

Strange thing to steal.

The holes are clean, like from an English hand trowel, no
foot prints around them. What is left of her seedlings in a hole
2"wide by 3" deep. They were randomly planted amidst scattered other
species. My wife is not into symmetry. So... if they were stolen by
a human, the thief had to know exactly what the baby plant looks like.

I read somewhere that baby plants are eaten down by rabbits but they
do not dig holes. Red and gray squirrels eat bulbs .. not rooted
planted as best I can tell.

There are many small critters that dig up plants exactly as you
described... anyone so paranoid to think a neighbor would go to such
lengths when they could buy their own packet of seeds for a few bucks
is in dire need of professional help.

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:50:57 -0400, wrote:

TotallyHomey writes:

My wife says the neighbor is stealing her hollyhocks. She is probably
correct.

Strange thing to steal.

The holes are clean, like from an English hand trowel, no
foot prints around them. What is left of her seedlings in a hole
2"wide by 3" deep. They were randomly planted amidst scattered other
species. My wife is not into symmetry. So... if they were stolen by
a human, the thief had to know exactly what the baby plant looks like.

I read somewhere that baby plants are eaten down by rabbits but they
do not dig holes. Red and gray squirrels eat bulbs .. not rooted
planted as best I can tell.

There are many small critters that dig up plants exactly as you
described... anyone so paranoid to think a neighbor would go to such
lengths when they could buy their own packet of seeds for a few bucks
is in dire need of professional help.

I'd not bother getting professional help as gardening wins and losses
occur with everyone. Reseed and perhaps success. Consider some sort of
protection but even that can fail. I plant most plants or important
plants (Read costly) surrounded by gutter guard think 5 inch fence
still critters can climb over it and have. Two legged critters for
cheap plants I'd say na.

--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden
What use one more wake up call?
http://ocg6.marine.usf.edu/~liu/Drif...atest_roms.htm

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:56:29 -0400, Bill who putters
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:50:57 -0400, wrote:

TotallyHomey writes:

My wife says the neighbor is stealing her hollyhocks. She is probably
correct.

Strange thing to steal.

The holes are clean, like from an English hand trowel, no
foot prints around them. What is left of her seedlings in a hole
2"wide by 3" deep. They were randomly planted amidst scattered other
species. My wife is not into symmetry. So... if they were stolen by
a human, the thief had to know exactly what the baby plant looks like.

I read somewhere that baby plants are eaten down by rabbits but they
do not dig holes. Red and gray squirrels eat bulbs .. not rooted
planted as best I can tell.

There are many small critters that dig up plants exactly as you
described... anyone so paranoid to think a neighbor would go to such
lengths when they could buy their own packet of seeds for a few bucks
is in dire need of professional help.

I'd not bother getting professional help as gardening wins and losses
occur with everyone.

You miss the point, has nought to do with gardening per se... has to
do with someone so paranoid they'd think a neighbor would go crawling
around on hands and knees in the middle of the night by the light of
the moon to nab a few very ordinary seedlings. Moles will suck
seedlings from underneath leaving a perfect round hole... this year
they stole most of my mammoth sunflower seedlings.. bluejays will dig
up freshly planted beans, peas, squash seeds. etc.

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:56:29 -0400, Bill who putters
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:50:57 -0400, wrote:

TotallyHomey writes:

My wife says the neighbor is stealing her hollyhocks. She is probably
correct.

Strange thing to steal.

The holes are clean, like from an English hand trowel, no
foot prints around them. What is left of her seedlings in a hole
2"wide by 3" deep. They were randomly planted amidst scattered other
species. My wife is not into symmetry. So... if they were stolen by
a human, the thief had to know exactly what the baby plant looks like.

I read somewhere that baby plants are eaten down by rabbits but they
do not dig holes. Red and gray squirrels eat bulbs .. not rooted
planted as best I can tell.

There are many small critters that dig up plants exactly as you
described... anyone so paranoid to think a neighbor would go to such
lengths when they could buy their own packet of seeds for a few bucks
is in dire need of professional help.

I'd not bother getting professional help as gardening wins and losses
occur with everyone.

You miss the point, has nought to do with gardening per se... has to
do with someone so paranoid they'd think a neighbor would go crawling
around on hands and knees in the middle of the night by the light of
the moon to nab a few very ordinary seedlings. Moles will suck
seedlings from underneath leaving a perfect round hole... this year
they stole most of my mammoth sunflower seedlings.. bluejays will dig
up freshly planted beans, peas, squash seeds. etc.

Look at Mexican sunflowers real soon. You will enjoy.

--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden
What use one more wake up call?
http://ocg6.marine.usf.edu/~liu/Drif...atest_roms.htm

TotallyHomey wrote:

My wife says the neighbor is stealing her hollyhocks. She is
probably
correct. The holes are clean, like from an English hand
trowel, no
foot prints around them. What is left of her seedlings in a
hole
2"wide by 3" deep. They were randomly planted amidst
scattered other
species. My wife is not into symmetry. So... if they were
stolen by
a human, the thief had to know exactly what the baby plant
looks like.

I read somewhere that baby plants are eaten down by rabbits
but they
do not dig holes. Red and gray squirrels eat bulbs .. not
rooted
planted as best I can tell.

So .. it seems there is an 80% chance she is correct and
maybe
there is a 20% chance squirrels are doing it, but do not leave
digging
mounds and not tracks?

i'm not sure if you are
planting these in plain dirt
or using a potting mix with
any kind of additives/fertilizers
(bone meal, fish emulsion, blood
meal, etc).

but raccoons, skunks, oppossum,
voles, etc. will think they are digging
for a tasty treat and some will eat
whatever they dig just because...


songbird

Bill who putters wrote:
brooklyn1 wrote:
....
the moon to nab a few very ordinary seedlings. Moles will
suck
seedlings from underneath leaving a perfect round hole... this
year
they stole most of my mammoth sunflower seedlings.. bluejays
will dig
up freshly planted beans, peas, squash seeds. etc.

voles will (they eat everything), moles
will uproot and move things around but
will not eat plants (they eat worms,
grubs, beetle larvae).


Look at Mexican sunflowers real soon. You will enjoy.

they are very pretty in the late summer.


songbird

In article ,
TotallyHomey wrote:

My wife says the neighbor is stealing her hollyhocks. She is probably
correct. The holes are clean, like from an English hand trowel, no
foot prints around them. What is left of her seedlings in a hole
2"wide by 3" deep. They were randomly planted amidst scattered other
species. My wife is not into symmetry. So... if they were stolen by
a human, the thief had to know exactly what the baby plant looks like.

I read somewhere that baby plants are eaten down by rabbits but they
do not dig holes. Red and gray squirrels eat bulbs .. not rooted
planted as best I can tell.

So .. it seems there is an 80% chance she is correct and maybe
there is a 20% chance squirrels are doing it, but do not leave digging
mounds and not tracks?

Grey squirrels chewed the tops off of my African marigolds this year,
and just left 3-4 in. stumps.

Something else, possibly a squirrel, or a jay, has been digging in my
hanging planters, but there were only nasturtium seeds, which have
subsequently sprouted. I covered the tops of the planters with chicken
wire to prevent future predation.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html