Todd wrote:

I went out in the dark with a flash light to water my
garden. Found the cutest little wabbit (Elmer Fudd speak
for "rabbit") about the size of a baseball taking a nap
in my zukes. He got a bath but good and now resides in
other parts of my yard. Though he was a rat at first.

Are rabbits something to worry about? If so, how would
you rid your garden of them?

Many thanks,
-T

yes, rabbits will rapidly take over. we
have a lot of damage from them this past winter
and too many around now. i've been lucky so
far this season with my unfenced gardens, but
i don't count on them for most of the veggie
production anyways.

fencing works well enough, if you have
deer in your area make the fence tall enough
to keep them out too and save yourself the
extra work later.

if you have chipmunks/squirrels, ground-hogs/
woodchucks, voles, moles, etc. there are ways of
making the fence suitable for excluding them.
you'll want a very fine mesh for excluding the
smaller critters.

done well also put down heavy plastic sheeting
along the fence (before you put the stakes in
and before you fence), when you then put the fence
up this will help you keep the weeds from growing
on your fence. mulch the plastic to keep the
sun off it. saves a lot of bother later. it may
look rather stark, but if you let weeds grow along
your fence you may not be able to notice how a
critter finds a way in. also, avoiding having
things growing on the fence keeps the wind from
having extra things to push against and knocking
it over.

do not plant vines to grow on this fence. do
not use it for beans or anything else. if you
want climbing vines put them on their own supports.
this way if you need to electrify (for fending off
raccoons, possums, ...) it is easier to manage.


songbird