Re: gophers
- Subject: Re: gophers
- From: Tony and Moira Ryan t*@xtra.co.nz
- Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 14:23:48 +1200
rebecca lance wrote:
>
> ----------
>
> > I have never tried barriers such as wire mesh. If the gophers like the
> > plant though they will root prune it and tunnel around the barrier. This in
> > some cases will divert water through their tunnels, causing uneven watering.
>
> The gophers in my area are so bad that I am one of those people who plants
> EVERYTHING in wire barriers. No, this is not foolproof. Gophers can still
> undermine the basket, destroy roots, and divert water, but in my garden this
> has been the most effective method that minimizes loss. It is terribly
> inconvenient, especially as I am a rock gardner and plant many small plants,
> but I simply got tired of a 70% kill rate every year. (Usually just as the
> plant is about to bloom for the first time.)
> I have often worried about planting shrubs in baskets, afraid that as the
> plant grows larger, individual roots might be girdled and damaged by the
> mesh. The alternative, however, seems to be sure death.
>
> And, as a previous gopher thread on this list can attest. I have tried
> everything. (Raised retaining walls, poison, juicy-fruit gum, castor oil,
> various forms of animal excrement, dogs and cats, sharp stones, kitty
> litter. . .did I miss anything?) This year, buoyed by a foolish sense of
> optimism and inspired by Loren's friend, I tried the vibrators again. They
> may have helped. Gophers are still in that bed, but many of my plants are
> surviving. Then again, they are all in metal cages.
>
> A few general notes on gardening with gophers.
> Trap. Year Round. I use the black hole traps.
> Remember that they follow water. Drip systems can act like beacons
> summoning the dreaded critters to your plants.
> Even if something is poisonous to them, they can still kill it by
> undermining it.
> Plants with multiple crowns, or plants that root as they go have the best
> chance of surviving the inevitable attack. (i.e. Geraniums, etc. )
>
> The only plants that I have found to almost foolproof are:
> Digitalis, Iris, Narcissus, Veronicas, some (but not all) salvias,
> lavenders, rosemary, rockrose, Muhlenbergia. . .
> There are probably a few others. A friend swears by Euphorbias, as you
> would expect, but they killed mine, so I cannot attest to them. And
> likewise, some on my list may just be the result of coincidence or random
> whims of fate.
> I also have good luck with Geranium sanguineum. They eat it, but it always
> pops up again. Other less roaming Geraniums are dispensed with routinely,
> and don't even try erodiums without protection.
>
> Gophers have been the single hardest thing for me to deal with in my garden,
> and I have dealt with a lot.
Makes me wonder how some of you folk can bear to go on gardening! How
much of the States is so bedevilled?
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
