While getting twigs picked up in the yard before mowing this week, I came across an interesting bit of wildlife, an Eastern Box Turtle. She was just digging at an old stump looking for grubs and other insects to eat. We know that she, was a she, because after all the years Vicki has been selling turtles at the store, she knows how to tell males from females by their shell configurations. In my fifty-five years, this is the first box turtle I have ever seen outside of a zoo. Although box turtles are not endangered, their population is threatened, mostly because of us. Box turtles are relatively friendly and many times get harvested from the wild as pets when someone come across one, which reduces populations even further. 

Female box turtles only lay three to six eggs per year and generally live to an average age of thirty. So if a female box turtle is taken from the wild when she is five that is anywhere from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty eggs that she will not lay in her lifetime. Even if a male is taken it can be devastating to the echo system as a box turtle’s entire range is about two football fields side by side. They will spend their entire life in an area that size only interacting with one or possibly two other box turtles whose range overlaps. In some cases, a box turtle may never see another box turtle in their entire life. So if you see a box turtle in your yard or crossing a road, do not take them home, they are very important members of the echo system and we need them to stay put. This is a very important note to pass on to others, especially everyone coming in to our area for summer vacation. It may be cute to bring a turtle home at first, but turtle tanks need constant cleaning or they will start to stink within days and, because most people do not realize this, they end up putting the turtle back outside in an area the turtle is not familiar with. As a result the turtle will continue to wonder trying desperately to find its way back home. 

During this journey the turtle generally won’t eat and barely drink, so eventually it will die of starvation. The other reason you do not want to take a turtle from the wild is that even though they are not a protected species, because they are native to New York and Pennsylvania, if you have one, you need a D.E.C. permit. Without that permit you could be looking at a very hefty fine. 

Now on to the rest of the story. Vicki and I moved to a new house this year and because of the deer we are gardening exclusively in containers this year. This presents a challenge when we go away on summer vacation as far as watering goes. The almost daily rain we had this week will not be the case in July and August so we needed to come up with a plan. I have a Tuggy Tugboat kiddy pool on my patio for my granddaughters to play in when they come over and it makes a great vacation waterer. Just put the containers in the tugboat, add a couple inches of water and they’re good. Even if we get torrential downpour the tugboat has an overflow so that my plants won’t drown. Nothing has to be fancy or professional, it just has to work. Any of my other containers that won’t fit in the tugboat can be watered easily with a sprinkler and a timer. Your in-ground plants and flowerbeds can be done the same way, it is any container plants that will need some additional care. Containers should be moved to a shadier location where they are less likely to dry out on a daily basis. You can also put containers in saucers of water about two to three inches deep. 

For really big pots, trash can lids can be used as saucers and as the plants need it, the water can be absorbed directly by the roots. Also don’t rig something up and just expect it to work, try it out for a week or so to make sure that what you are doing will keep your plants watered sufficiently while you are away. There is nothing worse that coming home from a great vacation to find all your hard work from the spring dried up and dead. Water timers are another good way to make sure your plants get the water they need. But once again, test them out before you rely on them. Every summer I hear from customers that used timers incorrectly or did not water long enough, so test first. If you get everything set up now, long before you go away, it could give you a little more free time to enjoy your plants instead of being a servant to them. Even hydroponic systems need to be watered. I know how crazy that may sound but think of the evaporation that will happen in a week or two even if your system is indoors, not to mention the water that your plants will use while you are away. 

So remember to set up an auto waterer for your hydro system if you don’t have one installed already. For your inside plants, you can rig up special waterers for them that can help to keep a plant watered for a week or so, but longer than that and you may need to ask a neighbor or family member to come over and do some watering for you. If you have someone that can do it for you that would be the best solution as they can tell if a plant needs more or less water. 

Now that your water worries are taken care of, have a great vacation. September will be here before you know it.