The Modern Victory Garden

I noted in my last blog post that it appeared I had some creature getting into one of the carrot patches – chewing off the tops of the carrots and pulling up several and gnawing them up quite well.  The little rascal was not even bothering to finish off the carrots that were pulled before moving on to pull up yet another!                             

Last night, I popped out the back door to let our elderly dog outside for a while and noticed that something was in the carrot patch.   The back porch light had been on so the adjacent garden beds (which is where the carrots are) were well illuminated, and luckily our old dog is so deaf and blind that she just ambled off and did not bother the creature - giving me an opportunity to quietly move up closer and get a good look without frightening him off.   I did not have my camera with me so I do not have photos to share, however, I think some Beatrix Potter illustrations will do nicely instead.

Yes, Peter Rabbit has braved the modern day equivalent of Mr. McGregor’s garden for a tempting meal of sweet, crunchy, garden fresh, carrots.   He was quite brazen and rather fearless as he continued to eat while I stood close by and admired his size and handsome pelt.   I must inform you that this is a well-fed rabbit and my carrot patch probably had a great deal to do with that!    

I have decided he may have the rest of the carrots in that particular section of garden as he largely topped them all already.   However, I am going to put some netting up over the remaining bed of parsnips and carrots as soon as I am home during daylight hours .  He has not found his way to the other main bed of root crops (yet) so I need to get some mechanical barriers in place to protect them from potential damage.   Netting is a good way to do this and does not hurt the animal in any manner - just blocks his access to the goodies.  There is only so far I can go with my generosity of sharing the garden abundance – after all, my family needs to eat too!                    

If you have not enjoyed "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" for a while, I would encourage you to read it online HERE.   As a vegetable gardener the beautiful story and illustrations are particularly appealing and timeless.