What starts as a cry of frustration that tender seedlings that have been carefully nurtured to the point where you were convinced that they were successful only to discover that someone else in the form of a rabbit family had consumed them, ends in a happier story of plans for another attempt. I came across this article at the Penn State Extension website. In addition to the tale of seed catalogs and subsequent sowing there is a list of (supposedly) rabbit proof plants.
Have you planted some wonderful small young seedlings to have them become tasty morsels for your local rabbit family? Have you tried everything from scattering human hair, soap, hot peppers, and even fox urine to deter the rabbits and nothing worked?After caring and nurturing plants for 6 to 8 weeks it was very discouraging to plant the seedlings and have them disappear. We did put cages around 30 plants in the yard but it looked like a jail for plants and even then the smallest rabbits snuck through the holes in the fencing to get dinner. Surprisingly, the rabbits do not bother anything in the herb garden.
This winter when the plant catalogs arrived I said to myself that I am not going to let those rabbits win. I am taking back the control of my yard and I will start seeds inside again. I will start my seeds a little earlier so the plants are bigger when planting season arrives. I am hoping that the larges plants will not be as tasty as small young seedlings.
Now that I have taken charge I am happily searching seed catalogs for the perfect color of petunia and the pink gaillardia that matches my Julia Child rose. After picking out a lot of plants I would like to try, I take a good hard look at my yard; what are my soil conditions, how much sun light is there, are there areas that are really dry or wet? Then I check the catalogs symbols or directions for each plants need. I immediately cross off any plant that needs shade or moist soil. The information in the catalog and on that seed packet is there for a purpose, you can’t successfully plant Toad Lilies in the sun. To avoid being disappointed that your plant is not looking like the picture in the catalog, follow the directions.
See more at Penn State Extension
Image source: Normanack
