ker_01 wrote:
Just moved to a new house, and now have room for a garden. Bad news is that
there is a huge mole problem, so I was thinking about trenching around the
garden area and burying hardware cloth (metal screen with holes too small
for the moles to get through). However, I'm worried about how fast it will
rust out- I can't afford to re-trench every year or two. Soil condition is
very moist.

Does anyone have experience with burying hardware cloth, and how long it
takes before it starts rusting away?

Depending on what widths are available, I'd bury it as deep as possible to
still leave about 9-12 inches above ground to keep them from just coming up
and going over the top.

Thanks!
Keith

If you are _really_ committed to this idea then you could spend more and
buy stainless steel hardware cloth rather than the typical galvanized. You
won't find it at your local hardware store but it can be had. It won't be
cheap but it should last for decades. Or you could make a different sort of
effort and make permanent raised beds perhaps 18" (call it 45cm if you
prefer) deep. A double layer of heavy-duty landscape cloth on the bottom
will probably suffice to deter moles while allowing proper drainage.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com