Hi, i'm planning on starting a new garden in my backyard this coming spring, but i want to get all the prep work done ahead of time so i can plant as early as possible. The focus of the garden will be vegetables and possibly some plants for tea. What can I do to prevent squirrels / deer / groundhogs / skunks / possums / anything else from getting into the garden? Is a fence the only thing I can do or are there other options? What advice do you guys have for me; how can i make this garden successful? thanks in advance
Some folks use sprays as deterrants, like a mix of a strong Cayanne pepper tea and dishsoap or Tobacco Powder as a dust (Let a pouch of Drum rolling tobacco dry out really well & sprinkle on the plant) I mean nothing short of a fence is a sure fire way for larger animals, but as long as you remember to reapply the sprays every so often like after a good rainstorm from what I've read they seem to do the trick for alot of folks. You can also start your stuff indoors a month or two before placing them outside instead of direct sowing the seed, better still, make a clear heavy plastic hoop tent / "poor mans greenhouse" and use one of those oil filled radient heaters and just start growing now. (Looks like the old school radiators from old buildings, alot safer than forced air heaters). I'm thinking of running a heater hose down in the root zone of one of my small 3'x4' plots just using a bird bath heater in a 5 gallon bucket, and a water fountain pump to keep the flow going in hopes of keeping the soil from freezing and helping to keep the plastic tent a bit warmer, something like Fall weather so I can keep growing lettuce, broccoli etc. right thru winter.
You can get a sonic device that runs on batteries or an ac adapter that is motion activated and repels different animals based on it's setting. I am a landscape contractor and have had one on my clients pond for 3 years and have not had any raccoons snatching her fish since. You can find it here: http://www.alwaysbrilliant.com/aa/a...C-Froogle/kw-19043/bb/Sonic-Dog-Repellent.htm
I've also heard of people doing things like using dryer lint, barber shop floor sweepings etc. and mixing it into the mulch around the base of the plant with some sucess as the Critters dont like the scent of humans much for some strange reason.
my I suggest floating row covers? and raised beds? Outa sight, outa mind. I have had good success with bird netting as well, simply draped over the plot. Before the netting I lost most of my bok choi to house sparrows. Skunks- to control skunks, cultivate your soil well to help reduce the grub population. If skunks are digging in your garden, thank the skunks, because they just diagnosed your grub problem. You can fix that with beneficial nematodes. Skunks are also voracious slug eaters, i'm told. As for tobacco, be careful with that stuff. If you have any nightshades whatsoever, you are risking a bad case of tobacco mosaic virus. Keep it away from eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, etc... All the nightshades.
I would say use raised beds built up with landscape timbers or something like that. Also, fake owls work pretty well, and you can get those at places like Home Depot. I have seen people use things like those small aluminum tart pans and C.D's on strings in their garden. The tart pans rattle and reflect which scares animals away without hurting them or hurting your plants. good luck!
