Colorful Chard
I’ve been contemplating the right time to have my first home grown salad, but I didn’t want to harvest the leaves before my lettuce and chard plants got a good start. They have been growing very well under the protective shield of chicken wire. The other day I decided that it was time to weed them, and so I removed the wire and cleared out all of the unwanted plants. I then replaced the cover of wire and left with an expectation of a fresh salad in a day or two.
Lettuce Damage
So much for a day or two. When I replaced the protective wire, I accidentally left a small hole, and an animal of some sort took that opportunity as an invitation for a gourmet salad lunch. This is the row containing a mix of lettuces, mesclun and chard, in other words a veritable all you can eat buffet for a opportunistic critter. I was angry for a minute, until I had an idea for a counter threat to these critters. My mother had inherited a dog when my brother moved, and it was more of a burden then a companion. I drove to her house and asked to take her problem away to fix my own. This would work out well for us both, and the pup was soon in the passenger side seat of my car en route to the garden.
Harmony
Harmony looked very confused when I brought her to her new home next to the garden, but after a few hours she went right to work. I hear this little puppy guarding the perimeter from her post by the greenhouse, and rather then keep me awake at night, it brings a smile to this gardeners face as I sleep easy knowing all of the work I’ve invested is now guarded by a trigger happy barking machine. Just her smell alone should keep most critters away. She’ll be earning a fare wage too, room, board, and a special meal from time to time if her barks keep out the critters.
