I’m not sure who was the culprit, but my roommate says he saw some squirrels digging around in our then-unused planters a few weeks back.

“They could have buried something in the dirt and went after it,” he suggested.

Crud. I lost one plant. Not a big deal, but the squirrels did dig up all the soil in the box and spilled it all over my porch.

I’ve done some searching and came up with a few interesting techniques to deal with this problem, if squirrels are indeed the offenders.

A suggestion by the Brooklyn Botanical Garden includes setting up a alternate feeding station. That’s great an all, except that some describe the squirrels in my town to be as big as small cats. If that’s true, they would eat me out of house and home.

I also read that some people spray their plants with a hot pepper concoction, but enviro-friendly gardeners say to avoid dousing plants with pepper sprays because they can cause animals “severe pain and eye infections often leading to blindness.”

I don’t think shooting at them with an air pistol is a good solution and I don’t think trapping them or covering the plants will do anything. The best solution I’ve found would be to get a dog or a mangy cat.

I wonder if the dog would be worse around my herb garden? Any thoughts?

Watering your garden may be the most important duty to master when tending to your plants. So study up!

In my talks with expert green thumbs, I’ve listened to many different strategies on how to best water your garden. And here’s some of those tips.

First, what you must watch out for:

• Don’t over water!
• Don’t under water!

Sounds simple? Think again. Many novices tend to over-water their garden because of the parental urges of wanting to take care of their plants. In fact, too much water will drown your plants, and some don’t like much water at all.

Here’s what you can do:

• Read up about your plants to know how much water they need.
• Get adept at checking the soil in your garden for moisture on a daily basic.

THE BEST METHOD: Stick your index finger into the soil where your plants are growing. Is it dry? Soaked?

To achieve maximum watering power, you should compare the soil’s dampness with that of a wet kitchen sponge that you’ve rung out. Know the feeling? When watering your garden, the soil should be just the same wetness.

Be diligent in checking the soil every time you water your garden. Because soil can dry out at different rates based on your climate, amount of sunshine and depending on how thirsty your plants are, it might not be a good idea to water them every day. Instead, play to your plants’ needs.

Wait until the soil is slightly drier than that of the rung out sponge, then water your garden. Be careful not to dump too much H2O on your green friends. You want to achieve a balance consistent with your kitchen buddy.

Happy watering!