Gophers in the April garden

As beautiful as my California poppies are this time of year, underneath hides an awful secret: gophers.

Gophers have always been a problem in my garden. The first year here they tunneled through my row of soybeans and demolished every single plant. Soybean roots must be irresistible to them; they do it every time. Last year they discovered my red onions. I can't tell you how many times I went out to pull an onion, only to find the nice green tops had survived subversive underground munching. Very little and very few of the onion bulbs left. Nevertheless, I am trying again this year. Fortunately, the soybeans sold as edibles in the bulk foods bins at the grocery store grow just fine, and I am not spending $$$ for soybean seeds.

This year I have a plan to beat out the gophers. I went to a gardening seminar in which I learned that burying 24" fencing that has openings no larger than 1/2" will keep out the gophers. My first step is to trench around the garden 18" deep. The challenge there is not to cut through the underground pipes of my sprinkling system. Then I will put in the fencing so that it extends 6" above ground. I will probably have to flag the top of the fencing  - maybe wrap the top wire with colored tape or ribbon - so that I don't trip on it as I go in and out of the garden.

That's fun to think about; the doing may be a different story.

As of yesterday, the hardest part of preparing my soil for planting is done. I double-dug four 36' rows, 24" wide, chopping up the clods as best I could. Speaking of which, is there a tool called a Clod Chopper? I want one. Will be researching. I planted onions, garlic, cilantro, okra, beets, corn, soybeans, and regular green beans in three of the rows. The next row will be the smaller-seeded items such as carrots and herbs. The last row, yet undug, will hold my tomatoes and the one zucchini hill I allow myself.

Speaking of gophers... I was speaking of gophers, but got off track. I tried some gopher repellent, sprinkled it around the garden. It seems to be working. All gopher refugees appear to have moved in amongst my poppies. My wood chip ground cover is disappearing under mounds of dirt, joining in with the dog in defying beautification of my flower beds.