Last year we put up a new hoop house, its mostly to protect all the trees
we still have in pots from the winter freeze but I decided we had enough
space to try growing some early vegetables. So back in early February
we moved some pots around, cleared an area added some compost and planted
some peas and fava beans. Watered in and went off to a couple of farm
conferences.
When we came back about 10 days later I was expecting the seeds to be
up. The weather had been pretty much OK and the temperatures inside the
hoop house would have risen quite a bit. The willows and hazelnut trees
in there were flowering nicely.
When I went to look I was disappointed. There were no sprouts. What there
was however was a vole tunnel. You could see where the little bugger had
burrowed all the way along the pea row. There were in fact a couple of
pea sprouts on the ground. Just the green tops, the vole had eaten the
pea seed out and left the green bit.
The tunnel reached the end of the pea row, then doubled back right down
the bean row. Everything was gone!
To say I was PO'ed would be putting it mildly. I was looking forward
to those early peas. Course they would not be quite as early as I had
hoped since the temperatures in the last 10 days have plummeted and we
had 10" of snow last week which is still hanging around on the ground
in large clumps. Today we are expecting another 5" with 7-12 forecast
for tomorrow.
Lovely.
But I refused to be beaten by a damn rodent. So yesterday I marched across the snow to the hoop house and set to work. I am determined to get my early peas. I went in armed with a roll of chicken wire and digging tools. After stripping down to shorts and T-shirt because its hot in the hoop house when the sun is out, I got to work.
First I dug out the row where the peas should be, not one was left. I
dug a much deeper trench that I would if I was just planting more peas.
Then I cut the chicken wire to the length of the row. Next I bent the
wire over double so that the holes of one side were overlapped by the
folded side making the hole diameter half what it would be on normal chicken
wire.
That done I bent the folded section in half and laid the wire in the trench I had dug. Then filled the V shaped wire section with soil and planted the peas near the top.
The I covered the seeds and folded the last third of the chicken wire over the top of the peas so they are now encased in a cage of chicken wire. I then wired the top in place so it wont spring back up and expose the peas. Finally I covered the whole thing lightly in soil.
Then I did the same thing for the bean row. Finally it was all watered
in and I stood back happily tired from my exertions.
Let the little buggers get through that lot to my seeds!
Now I just have to wait and see if it works. It should not bother the pea seeds their roots can easily get through the wire holes. While voles can be quite small I doubt that they can get through those small holes so my seeds should be safe. Now I just have to hope that the mice don't dome along and eat off the shoots when they emerge.
Janice Hazeldine PhD is the owner and head grower of Floral Encounters an organic Medicinal Herb farm that is also a designated sanctuary for pollinators. |