More Squirrel Games

Determined to grow some flat italian style beans (Romano), I ordered some seeds from Burpee.  The shipping cost more than the seeds, but it was the principle of the thing.   They arrived yesterday and I soaked 12 seeds overnight. 

I planted them today.  The chicken wire covering the trellis soil wasn't too hard to lift.  I had some garden clips (like round clothespins) to hold it up while I planted the new seeds.  I also planted 5 new cuke seeds.  The previous 6 came up but there were still gaps, so I filled them. 

The squirrels don't seem to bother seedlings more than a few inches high (why they don't, I have no idea).  Well, I'll make a guess that the new seedlings still have most of the growing seed and that's what the squirrels are after.  But pure guess.  I can't really know how squirrels think.

But under the 1" chicken wire cover, the beans and cukes should grow.  The beans should begin to ripen in 60 days  (sept 1st), so I could get 2 months of harvest even at this late date. 

Now I have to figure out how to protect the tomatoes.  That's trickier.  I'll try draping  the tomatoes in row cover cloth I think.  If they chew through that (and they can), I will have to get more serious and lethal.  I don't like "more lethal" things but anything that kills rats ought to kill squirrels...

Of all the plants I grow, I want the heirloom tomatoes the most.  Last year, I didn't get a single one; the squirrels took them all before they were ripe.  That will not happen this year if I have to trap and drown every squirrel within several properties.

I am considering a few designs to rebuild the garden beds and enclose them in chicken wire if I can't eliminate those few squirrels who have learned to depend on my garden for food.

If I redesign the garden beds to get them smaller and eliminate the spaces between them to make one large bed, I could build a frame to enclose the entire garden bed with a door for entry.    I want a garden THAT much.