5 Natural and Easy Ways to Protect Your Garden
With summer around the corner, many homeowners are busy prepping and priming their garden in hopes of enjoying some delicious edibles. A big kudos to these green thumbs as we all know, a garden can be quite time-consuming. Precious hours are spent planning the specific details of the garden including the start date, location, size, design, which vegetables to plant, and the necessary effort and supplies needed for the ongoing maintenance. For this reason, it’s important to take the appropriate measures to protect your garden using a natural and humane approach.
What’s the ultimate reward for growing a garden? Well, that’s easy to answer! When you can visibly see nature transform from a seed to a plant to a vegetable you can actually pick! Then of course, you must decide if you want to keep the veggies for yourself, share with a family member or friend, donate to those in need, or even sell at your very own garden stand.
With a big push toward “green efforts” and “non GMO” standards many are seeking alternative ways to protect their luscious gardens from critters as the delicious edibles constantly tempt them. Protecting your garden can be easily accomplished without having to resort to inhumane tactics. A natural and humane approach is favorable to everyone.
5 Natural Ways to Decrease Critters’ Desire to Eat Your Edibles
1. Play a lil’ music for those critters! Yep. It’s true. Music can prevent animals from entering your vegetable garden. It’s a simple and safe solution. Purchase a cheap radio; turn on the radio to a station of your choice at a medium volume during the dusk to dawn hours. Be sure the music is loud enough to deter animals from approaching your garden, but not enough where your neighbors want to call and report you for having a loud party. You can use re-chargeable batteries or a long extension cord that is outdoor-friendly to power your boom box.
2. Call your local barber or hair salon and ask for the leftover clippings! It may sound like an odd request, but chances are the barber/stylist will be more than happy to rid their space of some luscious locks that are simply taking up space. By placing human hair around the perimeter of your garden, the scent will prevent animals from wanting to enter your garden. Thus, it will decrease the likelihood of some missing plants from a critter with a hankering for a leafy green.
3. Allow your garden to glimmer with aluminum pie pans! Not everything that glimmers is gold, but in this scenario, sparkling pie pans will look pretty and do the trick! Simply punch a small hole in each pan, string the hole with a thin rope or fishing lure, and attach it to the top of a wooden post. It will not only reflect light, but also frighten critters when they lean in to eat your edible delights. This is a fairly inexpensive way to protect your garden as the pie pans can be purchased at a department store that sells dollar items. It’s recommended to use two pie pans on either side of the wooden stick to ensure the entire plant is protected.
4. Season those vegetable leaves! You may be wondering why you want to season the vegetable leaves when the plants aren’t fully-grown. Well, a quick dusting of red pepper will keep critters from eating your plants as the smell and taste is a deterrent. Because the weather can change, it’s a good idea to re-apply after a rain shower.
5. Coffee grounds literally on the ground! It sounds slightly odd! I know! Using used coffee grounds is an excellent way to deter animals from entering your garden and can be sprinkled throughout the soil in your garden. If you’re not a coffee drinker, you can visit a local java bar and ask for the used grounds or ask a friend or family member to set some aside each time a pot is brewed. This is an earth-friendly approach that is not toxic.
Boulder Gardening Conclusion
Now you have explored 5 different ways you can protect your crop from hungry critters. Do you currently practice any other strategies to prevent animals from eating your leafy goods? I’d love to hear any thoughts at all on this topic!
Thank You Guest Blogger Debra Gawet
Debra L. Gawet teaches companies how to harness the power of psychology, social media, and storytelling to connect brands with the people that matter most to their business.