I myself use smart pots or raised beds and avoid planting directly into the ground.
Advantages of this
No issues with gophers that I’ve ever seen
Disadvantages
Limited root space depending on size
Cost
If you are going to plant directly into the ground I have seen the electronic gopher deterent work well but alot are needed ,literally on all sides of every plant
There is a plant called gopher spurge that I highly recommend and plant all around my vegetable gardens and have had no gopher attacks yet, and they are very active around the rest of the property.
Cats always help keep rodents of all kinds down but I’m a dog person myself.
@GrapeApe how do I get this topic listed under the pests section of outdoor growing I tried but option dident seem to be there
A .22 calibre rifle works well… Pretty quiet and quick… even in a residential zone… How do I know? My neighbour, a retired OPP officer, approached me one day and said there was a rabbit that was getting into his garden and asked if I minded if he “took care of it”. I had no problem with it, and about 15 minutes later I see him and my other neighbour (retired Military Police) skirting the edge of his garage with his .22. The MP says to him “Here, let me try…” and takes the gun, kneels down, and sifts a shot over the rabbits head…and into an adjoining neighbours back yard… rabbit doesn’t even budge an inch… shoots again and nails it in the neck and kills it… Oh yeah, the rabbit at the time was in MY garden…lol…
Moral of the story… use whatever means necessary to kill the Earth Pigs and keep them from your crop… It’s gonna be an interesting summer when I put my 4 legal plants outside for the neighbours to gossip about…lol
Peace
DaFozz
p.s. Rodents and gardens do not mix
This looks effective - The Gopher Blaster
Get you a used box of cat litter, well used is best. Place it near your outdoor grow. Good for deer, rabbits, gophers, groundhog, ect. Armadillos you need to shoot. Wear a bulletproof vest and used armor piercing rounds.
Hahahahhaa that is awesome
We used to have gophers here. Haven’t seen them in decades. Thank dog! When my Gramps was alive he used to go all Caddyshack on their asses. lol
I’m such a softie and animal lover, they would end up destroying my garden and I would end up planting more just for them.
U can use fox urine or predator urine. U can find it at hardware stores or garden centers. Keeps other critters away too.
My blue heeler Luci loooves when squirrels and rabbits get under the fence and come visit. She often brings me the end result to my back porch - good gurl.
I grew up in the country, had me a 22 before I had a bb gun. A soda bottle with a few sponges really keeps things quiet, but that counts as a suppressor, please be mindful of local and atf laws.
Don’t get me wrong, I love animals too… I love the taste of venison, moose, beef, pork, etc… lol. I just draw the line when it comes to rodents and pests in the garden. I hate spending countless hours in the garden only to have it decimated in a short span of time. And one of these days, the neighbours’ cat is going to find out what it’s like to get hit with a marble from a slingshot if I catch it squatting in my garden again…
They make gopher baskets which work fine. I like hardware cloth as well.
Gophers go for the main root to stem junction. They do not care about peripheral roots.
You can also just plant a 5 gallon pot in the ground.
Gotta love a well trained dog that likes “to play” with the the rodents…haha
Peace
DaFozz
Those dogs are having so much fun lol