Re: voles eating the new sprouted seeds....
I have that issue too.
To address that specific issue, I collect gallon nursery pots. Start my vegetable seeds in pots and after they've got a number of true leaves, then set them out... More close together than I would prefer... Voles still eat the roots of the plants, kill the beans and watermelons.... So I plant a lot of them, and keep planting... When the nursery pots are empty... I refil with soil and go again.
I have a herd of cats, that helps some...
I can't seem to find any castor bean seed anywhere this year...
Almost seems like an antiterrorism thing... Stop making castor beans available....
