Continuing Critter Damage
2021-02-15
So far this winter we have lost over 26% of our plants from this plot alone. If the rate remains constant, by early summer we will only have a few overlooked plants left here. I am, of course, unwilling to use any type of poison or noxious chemical that may find its way into the leaves of the tea plants. I have read a number of documents on exclusion by using a hardware cloth barrier around the plants and I am thinking of giving that a try. Considering the variability of lead in most galvanized hardware cloth, I've also ruled that out for safety. It seems the two possibilities are stainless steel hardware cloth or rock. The stainless steel cloth would be easier to manipulate, but you still have to backfill all of the dirt that was trenched out of the plot perimeter. Pouring rock into the trench should be much easier, especially in the spring with the soil so wet and sticky. Also, I have no information on the longevity of stainless hardware cloth undergound, or what contaminates any particular cloth might have in its makeup. At least rocks will pretty much outlast the farm.
Because of our location, delivery charges for rock is more than the rock itself. We are estimating about $1200.00 to provide a barrier around our three plots down by the fields which together (used to) contain a little over 1100 plants. That estimate includes renting a trencher for no more than two days and, of course, providing all of the labor ourselves ... or maybe, myself 
.
I have also considered the propane and oxygen explosive device. Even if it doesn't kill the gopher, it does collapse the tunnels which, over time, is likely to deter the rodents. But, it is more expensive than trialing the rock wall exclusion method, and it will probably kill lots of other harmless underground creatures.
Continuing Critter Damage
2021-02-15
So far this winter we have lost over 26% of our plants from this plot alone. If the rate remains constant, by early summer we will only have a few overlooked plants left here. I am, of course, unwilling to use any type of poison or noxious chemical that may find its way into the leaves of the tea plants. I have read a number of documents on exclusion by using a hardware cloth barrier around the plants and I am thinking of giving that a try. Considering the variability of lead in most galvanized hardware cloth, I've also ruled that out for safety. It seems the two possibilities are stainless steel hardware cloth or rock. The stainless steel cloth would be easier to manipulate, but you still have to backfill all of the dirt that was trenched out of the plot perimeter. Pouring rock into the trench should be much easier, especially in the spring with the soil so wet and sticky. Also, I have no information on the longevity of stainless hardware cloth undergound, or what contaminates any particular cloth might have in its makeup. At least rocks will pretty much outlast the farm.
Because of our location, delivery charges for rock is more than the rock itself. We are estimating about $1200.00 to provide a barrier around our three plots down by the fields which together (used to) contain a little over 1100 plants. That estimate includes renting a trencher for no more than two days and, of course, providing all of the labor ourselves ... or maybe, myself .
I have also considered the propane and oxygen explosive device. Even if it doesn't kill the gopher, it does collapse the tunnels which, over time, is likely to deter the rodents. But, it is more expensive than trialing the rock wall exclusion method, and it will probably kill lots of other harmless underground creatures.
Terms of Service Privacy Policy
(with 579 cited references)
Find out about: America's (now the World's) Favorite Poison By Far!
... " just four companies — Bayer, Corteva (formerly DowDuPont), BASF and Syngenta/ChemChina — controlled 75 percent of plant breeding research, 60 percent of the commercial seed market, and 76 percent of global agrichemical sales in 2019."[78]
Monsanto / Bayer's Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases and Endangers Human and Animal Health. Protect yourself and those you care about!
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/argentinasRoundupHumanTragedy.php
http://www.NaturalNews.com/031138_Monsanto_Roundup.html
[78] ETC Group. (2019, April 06). New report: Putting the cartel before the horse…and farm, seeds, soil, peasants. https://www.etcgroup.org/content/new-report-putting-cartel-horse%E2%80%A6and-farm-seeds-soil-peasants
|
Just Say No To GMO by Michael Adams - Video
https://www.naturalnews.com/NoGMO.html Just Say No To GMO by Michael Adams - Music https://oregonTruffleTryst.com/_MEDIA/JustSayNoToGMO-192.mp3 Song Lyrics
|