by Ferida Wolff
I thought I had it made. I bought a flat of organic broccoli plants and left it out back before planting the veggies in the side garden. My husband kindly watered it each morning and the leaves were flourishing. I was somewhat concerned that the squirrels would get to the plants before I did but I watched them sniff at the flat and then move on. They didn’t seem interested in broccoli at all. Was this, finally, something I could grow without interference?
Then one morning there were a only couple of munched leaves and then nothing. Just one skinny, leafless, truncated stem in an otherwise empty container. I was ready to vilify those squirrels when I saw one sniff the pathetic stem and leave it alone. Hmm. Maybe they weren’t the culprits. If the squirrels didn’t eat the plants, what did?
"The bunnies are back," my husband said. "I saw a couple of them in the front yard."
Aha. Peter Rabbit’s relatives. I usually love to see rabbits around. They are particularly charming animals. I remember the time when I was down on the lawn weeding and a young rabbit nibbled his way through the clover to within a few feet of where I was working. We looked at each other and peacefully continued our tasks. There we were, just two of nature’s creatures companionably doing our own things. But now …
When I complained about the rabbits to my friend, she told me about her experience with corn. She and her husband had planted rows of corn and watched them grow to be beautiful stalks with promising ears. They waited for the corn to get sweet. On the day they were ready to harvest, they discovered that Japanese beetles had gotten to every ear.
Another friend told of her battle with deer. Another complained of groundhogs. And yet another described how she saw her plants disappear into the ground, one-by-one, as voles got to them. The squirrels get my peaches; I see their teeth marks on the developing fruit as they test for ripeness.
"Eat the wild strawberries instead!" I yelled when I saw a bunny. "And the clover, why don’t you munch on that and leave my veggies alone."
Truth be known, the rabbits do eat the clover, which we have lots of, but they must like variety in the diet. Don’t we all? I can imagine my yard as a full three-course rabbit meal: clover for an appetizer, veggies for the main course, and flowers for dessert.
I wouldn’t do anything harmful to rabbits though I would certainly like to have my vegetables able to grow. With fingers crossed, and a cage or two, we planted a watermelon vine and some tomatoes. I silently sent a message, Stay away bunnies. I would hate to have to call on Farmer McGregor for help. On second thought, maybe a fence will do.
The Humane Society is the best Farmer McGregor if you have rabbit problems:
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/rabbits/tips/solving_problems_rabbits.html
Photo copyright 2011 by Ferida Wolff
