The chipmunks won.
Last night, I returned the fence around my vegetable garden. The straw that broke the camel's back was when I returned home on Sunday only to find a half-ripe, half-eaten tomato! Last week, I complained how I didn't have any ripe tomatoes; this week, I have a couple -- but the darned chipmunk ruined my elation and beat me to the first bite!
Argh!
But I'm not going to let it get me down. I'm the one with the opposable thumbs; I'm the one who likes going out to my garden to decide what's for dinner. So I need to look at green mesh instead of lovely plants.
Knowing that the animals enjoy tender shoots, I'm definitely putting a fence around my newly planted seedlings. It's August, and it's time to make a second planting for fall harvest. I pull my beans and some beets to make room for these cool weather vegetables.
The following table is for vegetables that you can plant right now and still harvest them before the snow
Vegetable Days to Maturity
Radishes 30-60
Spinach 35-45
Swiss Chard 40-60
Leaf lettuce 40-60
Turnips 50-60
Kohlrabi 50-60
I found a recipe for turnip greens that I absolutely enjoy, and it's very easy: Blanch the greens in boiling water, fry a couple slices of bacon, saute' onions in the bacon grease, add blanched greens and cook, covered for 15 minutes. Very delicious!
That's why I fence my garden. That's why chipmunks are not welcome in my yard. The pure pleasure of eating truly locally; you can't get much closer than your back yard!
