HYB: CULT: another tale from iris hell

Warning - not for non-meat eaters...
The squirrel population has boomed again, and in spite of, or maybe because of?, the incredible bumper crop of black walnuts this year, which miraculously rebloomed <after> the freeze that killed foliage and bloom on all the other hardwoods this spring, squirrels would <not> stay out of the iris seedling pots.
After half heartedly shooting at them for several weeks, vainly hoping that would discourage them, I finally started putting them in the freezer. My rule has been that as long as I don't find any newly unearthed potted seedlings, I wouldn't kill any more squirrels.
The first shot killed a squirrel and put a hole in the pot where he was caught in the act, plus a hole in a 5 gallon bucket of potting soil and a metal pan I use to dump out seedlings in for replanting. 

2 squirrels later, I thought they had taken the hint.

No.

8 squirrels later, I was <sure> the rest had taken the hint.
Apparently, they are just more careful not to dig things up when I'm home. Went out today and found they had dug up a 3 inch seedling while I was gone for turkey dinner, leaving it exposed to the 25oF freeze Thurs night. I didn't check the pots till this morning, so it's been lying out there freeze drying and baking in the sun. Roots are pretty shriveled, but it's still pretty healthy looking, so now it's indoors for the winter.
The only time they seem to go after the seedlings is after I make the mistake of pulling chickweed out of the pots.
The ones I've killed have been <very> fat, thick layer of subcutaneous fat, stomachs stuffed with walnuts, and there are still drifts of uneaten walnuts everywhere. So it's not like they are hungry...
I cover small seedlings and seed germination pots with wire mesh to keep them safe, but don't have a convenient way of protecting over a hundred pots of seedlings that range in size from this little one up to full sized fans, other than buying an unheated greenhouse. Which I am about ready to do...
Hope I haven't totally grossed everybody out. Will keep you posted on how this 'ultimate survivor' seedling does here in the future... 

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.DiscoverET.org/etis>
Region 7, Kentucky-Tennessee <http://www.aisregion7.org>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

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