Theft from covered garden

I lost the tops of several Brussel sprout and sprouting broccoli plants from my plastic covered hoop garden bed. It is not possible that it is a four legged animal. Does anyone have suggestions deterring two legged invaders? My yard is fenced.

Sorry to hear that you are having unwelcome visitors to your garden, particularly for plants such as Brussels sprouts and broccoli that you wait a long time for. Most of the bandits in our area have four-legs, including our dogs. For two-legged veggie thieves, a fence is usually all that is needed. However, when we lived in an urban area there were a few things that I did to ensure that I was able to harvest what I needed from the garden.

  • Plant ‘sacrificial’ plants closer to the main street.
  • Plant treasured crops farther away from the main street.
  • Put a motion detection light in the garden area.
  • Make sure to know the neighbours, who can inform you of any unusual activity in your yard when you are not there.
  • Plant more.

Good luck!

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I am very sad to hear that, as usual Linda has good suggestions. I hope the problem stops. I wonder if it could be raccoons or rats? They could maybe get under the cover?

For people a locked gate should help.

Thank you Linda and Barbara for your excellent feedback. I need another gate and a motion detector floodlight for sure. The garden is quite hidden, inside my yard and next to my house. The tops of the plants are snapped off so I suspect it is not a rodent caused problem. This was my first attempt at a winter garden so I will plant more next time for sure. Unfortunately, the experience leaves me with a feeling of being unsafe in my own home.

I am so sorry to hear that not only was your hard work and soon to be enjoyed bounty gone, but also that you do not feel safe in your own yard. We moved to Courtenay a year and a half ago and one of the first things we did was install a motion detector/security light at the front of our house. It is a really good one. Very bright and it has a 180 degree coverage. We also have one on our garden shed on our backyard. Both of them deter 4-legged creatures as they don’t like the bright lights and I am assuming 2-legged creatures as well. Take Care.