Fish Fear Me

Rats

Any thoughts of trying to sneak the garden in an extra week early have gone right out the window:

Tonight: Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 10pm. Low around 33. North northwest wind between 8 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of around an inch possible. 

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 51. Northwest wind around 15 mph. 

Saturday Night: Areas of frost after 3am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 32. Northwest wind between 10 and 13 mph becoming light. 

Sunday: Areas of frost before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 57. Calm wind. 

April was so nice, but May has pretty much been a drag so far. The long range forecast shows temps warming up the last half of next week though, so it looks like May 15 will still be doable.

Mission: Vermin Fence

I still have close to a foot of snow in my yard, though it's likely that the three days of rain in the forecast are going to knock that down substantially. Now, it's way too early to think about planting anything, unlike my more southern located friends. It's time, however, to begin plotting out how to negate the number one scourge of my vegetable garden last year: The Terrorist Bunnies.

Of all the mistakes I made last year, underestimating the ruthless nature of the TBs was the biggest. They absolutely devastated all but the tomatoes last year and I'm determined to stop them this year. Chemical deterrents ultimately failed, so it's time to turn to my own version of the Maginot Line and install a vermin fence. This better work, because if it doesn't I'm either going to have to give up gardening or go all Elmer Fudd and patrol my yard with my shotgun in hand. I'm pretty sure my neighbors are going to frown on that last one. So, what to do about a fence?

I haven't worked all of the details out yet, and I'm happy to get any suggestions people may have, but I think I'll go with chicken wire that is buried 6" deep and also has a 6" L-shaped outward-pointing lip at the bottom. From what I've read that should be sufficient to discourage burrowing animals. I think I will also try some rabbit resistant/repelling plants around the outer perimeter. Suggestions I've seen include alliums, daffodils, and catnip.

I'd like to find something nicer than chicken wire, but I'll also need to get the right height. I'm thinking something that is 42" tall would be perfect since that would give me a 30" above ground height. I may have to go with something that is 48" though. Just having 2' above ground strikes me as too short maybe, and I don't want to do all of this work and have that turn out to be the case.

This will be a fair amount of work and probably more money than I want to spend. If it works though, it will be well worth it and should pay off for years. Since I spent close to $100 on rabbit repellent to no avail last year, I might as well try this. Like I said, any suggestions you might have are welcome.