The ants and the rabbits

By Christine Tailer
HCP columnist

The ants and rabbits have joined forces this year. They are my arch garden nemeses. They do not bother my peppers, basil, dill or assorted squash, but they will not leave my tomatoes alone. I've had to replant several times, though from past experience, I've thankfully learned to have extra starts ready for just such replanting occasions.

I typically sprinkle diatomaceous earth around my tomato plants to help keep the ants at bay. I know that the white powdery substance (not harmful to humans unless it is inhaled) kills ants by abrading their exoskeletons and making them vulnerable to moisture loss. This causes them to dehydrate and die. It's not that I enjoy killing ants. I'll even step over them if I see them when I’m out on a walk, but sadly, after three replantings, I am marching into battle.

I believe that there is nothing better than a fully ripe, summer-warmed tomato straight off the vine. I rarely eat store-bought tomatoes during the winter months. I'd rather wait until summer and eat the real thing. So sadly, diatomaceous earth it is.

Unfortunately for my garden, not to mention me, diatomaceous earth is most effective on dry surfaces and less so in moist or wet environments, and this spring, our creek valley world has been exceptionally wet. While the ants have gotten a bit of a reprieve, my tomato starts have sadly suffered.

So, after each rain, I head to the garden to sprinkle more of the white powder. My 25-lb. bag is now just about empty. I will say, though, that with all of this practice, I've gotten the sprinkling down to a science. I hold the small scoop of powder in my hand and gently tap its side with my index finger so just a bit of powder falls from its end. I imagine I'll need I to purchase a new bag, but perhaps it won't rain for a while.

Then, there are the rabbits. They also enjoy dining on young tomato plants and marigolds as well, but they thankfully seem to be leaving the rest of my garden alone. I probably have thirty marigolds scattered throughout my rows. The flowers are said to aid in pest repellant, but apparently they do not repel rabbits.

So, I erected a series of rabbit defenses that eventually evolved into a long tent of hog panels that ran down my garden rows. The rabbits could certainly wiggle their way through the panels, but the for the first few days the metal fencing was enough of a deterrent to hold them off. Then, just a few days ago, I stopped by the garden early in the morning on my way up town to the dentist. I was devastated to see a rabbit happily nibbling away inside my hog panel tent. When the dental assistant asked how I was, I sadly told her about my gardening woes.

She smiled. "Have you tried coffee grounds?" 

I told her I had not, and she went on to explain how she had just heard of this defense, and was now dutifully scattering coffee grounds all around her garden to repel both ants and rabbits. I could not wait to get up out of that dentist chair, though I am truly not a fan anyway, so I could quickly head home and scatter coffee grounds all around my garden. That was two days ago, and I am pleased to report that so far, so good.

I feel as though I have turned into an army general. Every morning, I make my garden rounds adjusting and shoring up my defenses where necessary. Curiously, though, I am a general without an army. I survey the damage, add to my fortifications, and then with a sigh, I retire, only to patrol and fortify another day, but this is all OK. I know that my spoils will be well worth the effort. I so look forward to that first bite into that first of summer's vine ripened tomatoes.

Christine Tailer is an attorney and former city dweller who moved several years ago, with her husband, Greg, to an off-grid farm in Ohio south-central Ohio. Visit them on the web at straightcreekvalleyfarm.com.   

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