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  • From: Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Organic claims on trial
  • Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:21:52 -0700

Bill Jones wrote:

Lynda wrote:


What do you do to keep out the voles?


I have raised beds with cracked concrete bottoms.

I was told to just plant mole plant. I'm darn sure they won't eat the mole plant, but that won't help me. Personally I find it far fetched to think that hungry rodents accustomed to eating my roots will give up and starve before putting up with a citrusy smell.

Actually I don't mean to ridicule this idea. It's well known that the Incas planted their native marigold, T. minuta, among and around all their root crops. It sounds small but this is a giant species (with minute flowers).

My beds avoid the bottom land, to take advantage of the less fertile high ground. But we have some bottom land that would make a great garden spot, if only during summer. This winter-flooded area can't support voles during winter as it is. I'll make sure to try some T. minuta in back (the north side) and some smaller marigolds in front.

Potatoes are one of several edible crops that actually feed rodents as part of their survival strategy. It must be so. If every little tuber made it and put out one or more stems during the next year, they would soon choke each other out. The other two "root" crops I know that are just like this are ulluco and Chinese artichoke.

Bill
S. Oregon coast




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