Easy Gardener 14 x 45 Foot BirdBlock Netting

The $64 Tomato - Avoid Sacrificing Them to Wildlife

Every spring extra tomato and pepper plants are sacrificed to critters, whether intentional or accidental, and every spring there is always a question about what will survive greedy wildlife. There’s not much to be concerned about in my urban/suburban backyard – birds, occasional rabbits, possums, and of course the guileful squirrels. Covering my four-foot square garden with wildlife netting in the past never created a snug shelter and the netting was easily worked through and under. This year I tried something different using wildlife netting. 

Rather than rolling out Easy Gardener’s 14 x 45 foot BirdBlock Netting  and draping it over the garden, this year I cut small five and six-foot sections. Ten-inch tall tomato plants were placed in the garden and sheltered by large tomato cages that were immediately wrapped around the sides and over the top with netting.  Using the practical and versatile pinch-style wood clothespins I secured netting to the cage. Using a couple landscape staples I secured the nearly inconspicuous netting to the ground. 

Super hoops are the best inventions for gardeners!

The days have been windy, the birds have been plentiful, and the dogs have been curious. Oak leaves are scattered all over the garden thanks to howling wind. With all of these threats looming the plants remain untouched. The squirrel war victory, at least for a while, goes to me. They apparently don’t think working their way past the dogs and the netting is worth the effort. 

The Germination Station

The Germination Station: How to Get a Jump-start on Spring

It may be surprising, but I often start seeds for my garden in late December. No, I don't live in South America, I'm in Houston. In the steam bath we call zone 9A, the guidelines I learned as a kid - plant on Mother's Day, harvest in July - don't work. That's because tomatoes don't set fruit if  the temperature stays in the 90s all night: chiles, maybe; tomatoes, no. That lets us plant a fall garden, setting out seedlings in August and harvesting while our friends in the Midwest are raking leaves. That is, if the squirrels don't get to everything first...

The first time I tried this was in Illinois, except that then I started seeds in February in the depths of Midwestern winter.  The references told me I needed to heat the soil to start seeds that early, so I picked up a Hydrofarm Germination Station.