Protecting Seelings

Gardening where I spend the winter is quite challenging. Though the ambient temperature is perfect for growing, there are so many other factors that must be overcome. This is really hunter-gatherer country and not really suited for agriculture. Before the invasion of the conquistadors, the locals wandered around naked and simply lived off the land. I do a bit of that, but I love growing things and so I do whatever it takes (aside from assaulting the environment) to nurture the plants I grow.

I've already addressed a good way of getting seeds to sprout and root without being eaten. The next challenge is to protect them from all the hungry critters that can't wait for the plants to mature.

Planting directly in the ground is not viable. Gophers, moles, mice and other rodents abound. It wasn't always such a problem. There used to be lots of snakes. But most people are averse to snakes and so they kill them. Rattlesnakes were excellent at keeping the rodent population in check, but I'm one of the few people who save them and relocate them to safety whenever I find one close to a residence. Snakes like to stretch out on a nice, warm road in the evening and so automobiles destroy many more. In 1992, some overpaid government official decided that introducing wild turkeys, which were never part of this environment, was a bright idea. Now many of the king snakes, glass snakes, rosy boas and gopher snakes are endangered since turkeys love to eat snakes. Because of this imbalance the rodent population has exploded.

Anything that goes in the ground must be surrounded by wire. I have built a few wooden boxes with wire bottoms and this works.

Once my seedlings have their first true leaves, out they go into the garden box. But rodents aren't the only problem.

To protect my seedlings from cut worms, I slice a plastic bottle into rings and then slip them over the plants. To further protect the plants from above ground animals like rabbits, I cover the plants with wire baskets. In addition, to protect the entire garden from deer, I surround it with plastic deer fencing.

Yes, it's absurd, but that's what it takes if you aren't willing to blast all the animals with bullets and douse the plants with pesticides. It's made me realize that from Mother Nature's standpoint, agriculture is truly aberrant behavior.

But garden I must.