This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy was my first dog and he thought the garden was his, even though I did all the work. Now Suzie and Charley follow in his footsteps. We're located near Boston (USDA zone 6A). I have a community plot, a backyard vegetable garden, fruit trees, berry bushes, chickens, and bees. I use sustainable organic methods and do my best to grow all of my family's vegetables myself.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
baby rabbit update
The baby rabbits ate the tops off my kale, so I planted my leftover kale seedlings in between the munched plants and then put hoops and row cover over the patch.
Bunnies also ate most of my pea plants - I'm not so sad as this crops was not doing well and I wasn't expecting much in the way of a pea harvest. I planted cucumbers on one pea trellis already and will plant beans soon on the others.
The baby bunnies like my peas, kale, parsley, dill, violets, and other weeds. They're not touching my basil, cucumbers, arugula, thyme, sage, or oregano.
I have lots of dill that self-seeded this year. The bunnies were eating this gradually. This evening, I moved it all to one location and covered the patch with hoops and row cover.
I'm glad to note that the bunnies are not finding a way into my cold frame (yet?) this year.
Baby bunnies are a recent addition to my suburban yard - they've been here only the last 2 or 3 years. I'm thinking it may be time to adjust my fence to keep them out of the vegetable garden as I love to see them everywhere else in the yard. Only the tiny babies get in to the garden. They squeeze through 1.75 inch fence spacing! For only about one month in the spring they come and go through it and nibble as they please. Soon they will be too big. Skippy chases them away when I spot them and ask him to go out.
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6 comments:
At my son's school garden we planted 2 different rows of peas and the bunnies have eaten every last one. On the home front they have eaten my basil TWICE.
It's nice of you to share your garden with those little cutie but I can see how it could get old. Good luck in bunny proofing!
We've been struggling with the bunnies too. They were really cute until they ate my squash and tomatoes plants earlier in the spring. Now they are enjoying the few blackberries our newly planted vines are producing. Our dog, Buddy, loves sniffing around for them and chasing them if/when he finds them.
What about using rabbit repellent on things like peas and beans when they are young? The edible part won't be affected.
I have found evidence of bunny nests in my garden ... their not just "getting in " they are growing up there ... lol
Can you plant a big patch of their favorites a ways outside the garden, then rabbit fence all around? Our bunnies love chives so there is a nice patch of them and some lettuce under the apple tree. Every now and then, Willie, our lab, chases them off but they come right back, though not as far as the veg garden.Betsy
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