Protecting the Garden

Usually, the garden should be surrounded by a fence sufficiently high and close-woven to keep out dogs, rabbits, and other animals. The damage done by stray animals during a season or two can equal the cost of a fence. A fence also can serve as a trellis for beans, peas, tomatoes, and other crops that need support.

Green beans, peas, lettuce and cabbage can quickly be consumed or damaged by just one hungry rabbit. Like humans, rabbits develop tastes for certain food items.

Rabbit damage can be identified by a clean, angled cut to the plant stem. You may actually see the rabbits in the garden early in the morning or just before sundown. So what can you do about rabbit damage? As you plant a row of beans for yourself, plant one for the rabbit. Believe it or not, if you have enough space, this will work.

If you are short on space, the best and sure way to discourage the rabbit from the garden is to put a fence around it. You can restrict cottontails from the garden by erecting a 3-foot-high fence made of chicken wire or similar wire mesh.

By adding an extra foot of fence to the top and then bending the top foot out at an angle, you can keep away other animals, too. You can also add rabbit deterring mesh to a pre-existing deer fence by adding it to the lower part.

Another way to discourage rabbits from taking up residence near your garden is to keep shrubs, weeds, brush piles and other plant cover around the garden cleaned away. Rabbits need escape cover to thrive and raise a family. By keeping the area around the garden cleaned away you discourage nesting.

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