Fall Garden Lessons

I lost my pumpkin crops to ground squirrels.  Here’s how…

With a new Labrador puppy on the ranchito, I opted not to use squirrel bait.  Instead, I tried a pellet rifle, which was extremely effective and very sporting as ground squirrels are like the roadrunner cartoon.  It was impossible to shoot all of those notorious ground squirrels.  Instead, every time they ate all my pumpkin seedlings, I did what every determined gardener would do… I planted more.

Eventually, I made plastic cages to protect the seedlings.  The ground squirrels ate the cages as well.  Finally, I realized that a fourth crop would not be ready in time for Halloween, along with the fact that, in this battle between gardener and squirrels, the pests won.

If anything, I’ve learned a valuable lesson that there’s a simple solution for all of this in the year to come.  Next year, the dog will stay in the fenced ranchito de pero while I bait for squirrels.