So right, Tom and thank you! We do always keep in mind that the main harvest in the garden should be what the kids learn and 'everything, good and bad, is a learning opportunity'. We always plant lots of beans because they bear quickly AND attract so many pests. The bean leaf rollers are always a big hit with the kids! We planted squash as sacrificial plants last year just to see how well they grew and how fast they collapsed when the caterpillars started munching them. It's all related to 'this is what farmers deal with to grow food for you'. Lots of the kids already have a new respect for what it takes to put veggies in our tummies.
We are SO lucky to be able to do the garden right through the school year down here! But . . . you knew there'd be a 'but' . . . we are losing plants every day to this bunny or bunnies. The kids are only in the garden with us one day per week, Tuesdays. If we don't come up with a 'sure fire' plan this coming Tuesday we may have to call Animal Control, then there will be traps and unpleasant scenarios for the kids, I'm afraid. I did already put down the scent deterrent, but I'm not optimistic on that one. I think we will have to go to a fence for long-term control.
We also see a group of classes for this semester, harvest everything before the holidays to make Stone Soup (google it
) and plant a whole new garden with a new set of classes starting in January. This way more kids get to experience the garden. So . . . well we're usually up against a deadline to get things growing so all the kids will have at least some veggies to put in the Stone Soup by mid-December.
Bunnies like new shoots of practically everything, it seems. But I do think it was the alfalfa that attracted them in the first place.
