Between insects, harmful microorganisms, adverse weather conditions, rodents and other small animals, protecting a garden from damage and decay can be a challenging process. In particular, animals such as rabbits, deer and moles can quickly devour large amounts of your garden's riches. Fortunately, there are several simple and not cruel procedures you can put in place to keep animals out of your garden. The following steps can be applied jointly or individually.
Steps
Step 1. Build raised beds for your garden
Raised beds are simple to build, using stock lumber, and also bring numerous benefits. In addition to keeping the ground warmer and preventing it from becoming compact due to trampling, raised gardens can dissuade animals from entering. Small animals, such as rabbits, are often reluctant to move away from ground level to enter a raised garden, as they instinctively avoid areas where they will be visible.
Step 2. Make the passages between the beds as narrow as possible
Even this precaution makes small animals more reluctant to show themselves and feel vulnerable. If the passages between the beds in your garden are only 30 cm wide, there will be less chance of rabbits and other small animals entering, for fear of exposure to predators.
Step 3. Mix different vegetables together
This is an effective technique for making soil resistant to disease and keeping it healthy, but it can also be used to keep animals. Plants such as garlic, onion, marigolds, chives and lavender can be used to drive away rabbits, deer and some other animals. Inbreeding these vegetables with the rest of your crops will treat the animals from trying to eat your most tempting vegetables.
You can also use these "animal-repellent" vegetables to create a perimeter around your crops. This will help to completely dissuade animals from entering your garden
Step 4. Build fences around the flower beds
Fencing is one of the most effective ways to keep animals away, although it tends to reduce your ability to access vegetables.
- The fence can be built either around the single raised bed, or around the entire perimeter of the garden. The best choice depends on the size of the garden and the amount of fence you want to buy.
- Garden fences can be made of many different materials, including scrap lumber, wire mesh, corrugated screen mesh and bamboo. These materials can be pinned together in any way you want, but make sure you leave a clear way through the fence to get access to the vegetables.
- Additionally, the fence should extend 6 inches below the ground to prevent burrowing animals from entering your garden.
Step 5. Add lots of mulch around the vegetables
Mulch is an excellent means of regulating soil temperature and preventing weed growth, and it can also be used to keep animals.
Step 6. Many animals are reluctant to walk on areas covered with mulch, especially if the latter do not have the additional weed coating
Many materials can be used for mulch, such as straw, dry evergreen tree needles and bark.
Step 7. Plant tempting foods away from your garden
If the above methods prove inadequate, you can introduce plants that rabbits and other small animals like to dissuade them from eating your vegetables. Rabbits and other small mammals love to eat clover, asteraceae, alfalfa, dandelions and different types of wild flowers. You can plant these species in a large perimeter around the vegetable garden, or next to a row of trees, so that the animals prefer to stay in that area rather than in your garden.
