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View Full Version : So much for my new big garden fence!



CathyA
5-16-12, 12:49pm
This is so weird..........For years we've had this broken down, rusty, short chicken wire fence around the garden. We would have to "spot treat" lots of stuff.......like chicken wire around the beans. What a drag that was.
So we put up this beautiful 4' tall welded utility wire fence, lined at the bottom with 2' chicken wire. We used cedar 4x4 posts at the corners and studded T posts every 5'.
I planted tomatoes yesterday.............tomatoes have NEVER been a problem with wildlife. I went out this morning and several of the tomatoes were totally dug up, along with all the soil for about a foot down! And some of the bean seeds were dug up. What the heck??

On my way to the garden (in my electric golf cart, which is extremely quiet), I surprised a stray cat laying fairly close to the garden. I'm thinking it was the culprit. Yes, I wanted a stray cat to catch the mice in my garden.........but not dig up the goods! I did put several hand-fuls of cured compost in each hole before I planted them. Maybe it was after that?

I actually can't plant too much of anything in my yard or on my porch, because something always digs it up. I was thinking it was raccoons, but maybe its always been cats.

So........now I have tomato cages/wire fencing around all the tomato plants and beans so they won't be dug up. I'll top-dress the plants later with the compost.
Sheesh.........there's always sompin'!

Gardenarian
5-16-12, 3:21pm
Well, that's an odd one!
We've had trouble with neighbors' cats using our garden as a litter box, but never digging stuff up or getting in the compst. Weird.

raeann
5-16-12, 6:27pm
I have to say, we've always had lots of cats, and I've never had a problem with them digging in my flower beds or veggie garden. The worst I've seen is kittens destroying my caladiums! Maybe the cat was in the garden sniffing around for the real culprit! Or maybe he's a bad kitty. Still seems odd to dig up tomatoes though...did you plant seeds or transplants?

CathyA
5-16-12, 7:50pm
I planted tomato plants and bean seeds.
You know, maybe I blamed the wrong culprit. Maybe it IS a raccoon. I just assumed it was the cat, because he was laying near the garden. I do have mice in my garden, so if it was the cat, maybe it was after a mouse?
You guys are making me lean more towards thinking it was a coon. Sounds like this isn't cat behavior.
Thanks!
P.S. DH said "Maybe since the fence looks so good, the animals think there must really be something good in there." haha

raeann
5-21-12, 11:10pm
Just ran across something in another forum talking about cats digging up seedlings!

http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/homesteading-gardening/147479-cheap-way-fence-off-vegetable-garden.html

Wildflower
5-22-12, 3:09am
I don't think that would be the cat unless it was after a vole or some other underground critter that went through your garden.

CathyA
5-22-12, 6:58am
Thanks raeann and Wildflower.
So far, nothing has been dug up again, but I have lots of my tomato cages laying around in the garden, so it makes walking through it harder.
I've decided if it keeps up, once the tomato cages are up, I might put up a string of electric wire around the top of the fencing, attached to a solar charger.
Hopefully, it won't happen again...........but we do seem to have alot of stray cats recently. I welcome them catching the mice in the garden, but not the plants!