Re: how do you protect seedlings?

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Chicken wire is not tight enough; mice can still get in.

I built cages, several of them -- 1x2 pine frame with quarter-inch hardware cloth over it.  The size of the cage will be determined by the sizes of the pots you want it to house, but an overall size in the three by two by two-foot range will hold quite a few goodies and still be easy to lift on and off (handles help).  This cage will slip over your pots, and permit rain and snow to get in for your basic temperate winter stratifying, but some of mine are also under a tree to lessen the precipitation for anything that likes its winter dryer.  Paint the cage to prevent the wood's rotting, and it'll serve you for many years.  The height makes it easier to reach and accommodates seedlings to adult plants for the smaller varieties.

A couple of finer points: be sure your cage meets the ground all 'round.  If you have the pots sit on a thin layer of gravel, this will ! ease your task of filling gaps at the bottom while also increasing drainage from your pots in case you get rain and ice mixes that can saturate your pots and then freeze to a solid swamp that will not release its plants until spring.