November brings in Thanksgiving and the first snow.
I have a lot to be thankful for. As the year ends and we withdraw from the growing season it gives us time to think inwards and review the experiences we had over the past year and in the past in general.
Thanksgiving Harvest
On our menu this year we had potatoes: red maria and Katadin mash-up, butternut, Brussels sprouts (Mart-L) picked fresh from the garden, onions, celery (fresh for the garden) in the stuffing, and, pumpkin pie made from frozen puree. We probably could have had wild turkey if it was turkey season, as there was a group of eight wandering around. Soon we hope that the apple trees will start producing.
Everyone eats, including the varmints.
Protection from deer
Young apple, fruit, and nut trees need to be wrapped in fencing, burlap, or bird netting. Deer will nibble away and can kill young trees. Plastice bird netting works well, but anything sticking out will be “pruned”
Protection from rodents
The bottom of the young trees should be wrapped with hardware cloth to prevent rodents and rabbits from eating the trunk.
The vegetables are mostly gone, and I leave what’s left of the broccoli and brassicas to the deer. Unfortunately, the beets got ravished by voles and mice. The row cover was in place but the varmints got the best of me. I set the traps too late but was rewarded by a good hunt.
My mistake was not paying attention late in the season. Once the row cover was on the beets, the rodents had protection from neighborhood hawks and owls. I did eventually set traps, but too late to harvest beets. Almost every beet had a rodent bite and there was a nice vole hole in the middle of the patch.
The best way to trap mice and voles.
Set a variety of sizes and styles of snap traps. Bait the traps with whatever the varmints are eating. Here I used pieces of beet, forced into the bait holder in a way that the rodent would need to tug at it to remove it from the trap. I set three traps around the hole, facing the hole. In the above photo, the beets were under a row cover. Ordinarily, when a hole appears, I will set the traps around the hole and use a small box to cover the hole and the three traps. Check the next day. Keep repeating this till the rodents are cleared, but set every few weeks, or at first sight of damage.
Leave the carcasses on an exposed stump for the local hawks, owls, foxes, and bobcats. Attract these predators into your area and you will need to set fewer traps.
