I'm glad I'm not the only one who had that problem! I felt silly to have not expected it after how much trouble they gave me last summer. My spinach, broccoli, cabbage, mustard and lentils were all the same story for the little varmints. The only thing they left was my backup strawberry plant, chamomile, and cilantro!
It actually snowed here the morning before yesterday, and there was still frost yesterday morning. All right on schedule for the so-called “Ice Saints” here in Europe - four Catholic saints whose name days fall between May 11 and 15 - and when, according to old traditions, the last frost should arrive. After, you can start sowing seeds in the garden. Of course, from a meteorological and statistical standpoint, that’s not true - except this year
@Rillowen, I had/ have the same issue with voles. I have tried various methods, and in the meantime, I have picked up a new hobby: collecting daffodil varietiesI tried planting those last fall, I was so excited! I put them under a low tunnel. They did fine at first, but then the volesndecided to eat most of them. The last 2 were taken out when we had that drop from a week of 80s to -20 in 12 hours. Most of my winter plants have the same story, voles then that drop. I was so sad. I could have mulched extra ect (not sure it would have helped) but the weather was predicted to be 50!
@Rillowen, I had/ have the same issue with voles. I have tried various methods, and in the meantime, I have picked up a new hobby: collecting daffodil varieties
Voles and rodents avoid daffodils and their bulbs. So I have started planting daffodils in my garden and around some of my berry shrubs. They then avoid those areas.
Since daffodils are poisonous, I can’t plant them in the vegetable beds, but I use them to create borders. Since I didn’t want the same daffodils all the time, I now have a collection of about 60 different varieties. Garlic is supposed to work too, but I really can’t plant the whole garden with garlic.
Another method is to dig holes in the ground, line them thickly with walnut leaves, then fill the holes back up with soil and plant the plants there. My neighbor does that and it provides quite a good protection.
My preferred way is to use a 5 foot scaling bar, the sort that was used in the mines in the olden days, looks like this on the bottom
Thanks. Interesting. I have used something like that method for hazel sticks to support peas but I think your birch poles are much more substantial than my hazel ones. What would be the diameter roughly of your average pole?My preferred way is to use a 5 foot scaling bar, the sort that was used in the mines in the olden days, looks like this on the bottom
View attachment 81156
I drive it down into the ground several times until I'm 2 feet deep (I put tape on the bar to mark the depth) and do wide circles to open the top of the hole about 10 inches or so. Then I slam in the pole with as much force as I can muster and use the bar to pack the dirt in around it. Works so great, creates such a sturdy footing its remarkable. I actually struggle in fall a little to get them out. I guess our water table is fairly high because I can tell its wet down there and a suction sound is often made when I drive the pole in.
@Blue-Jay 's method is probably quicker, using a ladder and a sledge, but I think I'd struggle to swing a sledge on a ladder. The 2 x 2's that are sold here are all jointed, its nearly impossible to get something in one piece in that size. And I know from experience with other wood projects that those joints are terribly weak and don't hold up. I've also used a hand held auger for holes, but it takes me about double the time that way. And I'm sure I've nearly broken my wrist several times using it.
No Ladder and No sledge. I cut my 1 x 2 inch furing stripe (2.5 x 5 cm) to 84 inches (213 cm). The pine furing stripes then are short enough with a point cut on one end to push them into the soil a little then finish the job of driving them deeper with the flat side of the head of a carpenter's hammer. I drive them into the ground about 12 to 14 inches
