We grow a delicious garden – not like WE know that yet though…

by Miscellaneous Mum on October 30, 2008 · 11 comments

in Family Life

Here’s a shot from our brand-new garden last week.

Well, here it is now:

Garden cage

Yes, fortification became necessary. Our precious babies need to be protected from the predators that roam our neighbourhood at night. I came out one morning this week to see every bush – except the tomatoes; apparently possums don’t like them – ravaged. Our poor strawberry is just a little stem poking out of the ground.

As I’ve said, I’m pointing the finger at our local possum population.

Why?

Bulging evidence of the culprits

Because of this possum-sized bulge in the wire.

(You can’t quite see from the top photo but there’s a depression in the top, so they drop through there and exit out the side. The buggers.)

So this weekend Adam will erect a more permanent means of keeping our babies safe. All reasonable suggestions and advice will be gladly taken.

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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Pepper (11 comments.) October 30, 2008 at 7:05 am

Oh geez, can I relate! We live in the country, so it’s a constant battle. Although our problems usually rest more with raccoons and deer than possums.

With smaller predators (rabbits, squirrels, etc.) what works well for us is a rubber snake (seriously!) tossed into the middle of the garden. They see it and head for the hills. But for possum, I’d suggest a light rigged to shine over your garden at night. Being nocturnal, possum hate light. You’d just want to point it downwards so it’s bathing your veggies in light, but not disrupting the nightime flow of the whole yard lol it keeps ‘em at bay around these parts :)

Pepper’s last blog post..Looking to the Future

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Miscellaneous-Mum (370 comments.) October 30, 2008 at 8:13 am

Snakes – good idea, I’ve haerd that one before.

As for lighting, we’ve tried that trick before in our endless turf wars with the possums (oh, it s a saga) and now they just shrug it off, couldn’t care less. But I will give those snakes a try I think, thanks! :)

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Veronica (83 comments.) October 30, 2008 at 9:53 am

Kill the possum? No?

Blood and bone hung from a stocking will deter possums. They don’t like the smell. And if you hang it from a sock or stocking, when it rains (or when you water) it will fertilize the garden.

Veronica’s last blog post..NOT the spider that was in my cleavage.

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jeanie (51 comments.) October 30, 2008 at 10:58 am

Oooh – I like Veronica’s suggestion.

We are lucky – we are more likely to get the snakes by nature than the possums.

Snakes don’t each as much produce.

However – snakes scare the fertiliser out of me.

jeanie’s last blog post..This Gross will Post You Out

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Jayne (243 comments.) October 30, 2008 at 1:38 pm

Shove some of those cheap solar garden lights around the edges (about $20 for 6 at the Reject Shop) and put up chicken wire.
Don’t know if it’s available yet but they’re producing artificial dingo wee to scare possums, wallabies and ‘roo’s off from gardens and forest areas.
Read it HERE
Not much else works.

Jayne’s last blog post..Trivial History October 30

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Janet (200 comments.) October 31, 2008 at 2:48 am

Good luck. I’m checking back to see what people suggest. I have a problem with something digging up all my spring flowering bulbs. I think it’s squirrels.

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Michelle (34 comments.) October 31, 2008 at 3:48 am

I have always wanted to catch a wild animal in the act of destroying a garden, so I could be like HA!, and I could watch the animal jerk around with food sticking out of its mouth, eyes wide. But kind of like a character from Over The Hedge.

Michelle’s last blog post..Did I really join the Disney Movie Club?

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Jean-Luc Picard (293 comments.) October 31, 2008 at 7:49 am

You’ve got it well protected against nature!

Jean-Luc Picard’s last blog post..Halloween Hunt

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Miscellaneous-Mum (370 comments.) October 31, 2008 at 7:53 am

V – that is a great suggestion thank you!

Well my short term plan has been to put an upside down bucket over the top of the plants with a brick on top of a nighttime then remove it of a daytime until we fix up the cage properly.

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MichelleB October 31, 2008 at 11:07 am

Mole are a pest for our garden & annoying like possums. Ever since me and my hubby celebrated our 10th anniversary and he bought me a gorgeous pair of diamond earrings from http://www.idonowidont.com I bought him some new garden tools.

Hopefully he can figure out how to get rid of these annoying moles with them because they are screwing up the strawberries we’re growing!

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