I Build Little Houses for my Plants
When I first put them in. Here's what they look like, and below I will tell how I build them:
I use old product boxes, such as the kind one buys for cat food. The small Amazon boxes are great because they are strong. I just open the flaps on the bottom and staple the flap to the inside of the box. Fold it up and staple it to add to the strength of the box.
I put my plant in after digging, then I water, then I put in my plants with roots gently coaxed outward. Cover with soil and put the box around it, pushing the edges of the box down a bit for stability. Often enough, I will use a short board to hold it down from the wind. I also cover the ground around the plant with cardboard and then I put the straw over it. This prevents me from having to do much weeding.
Note that I've stabilized the boxes on the corners with sticks.
In addition to all that, I then spray the top of the plant with Repel-It because these beds are unattended for days if they are in one of my school or community gardens.
When the plant gets bigger, I'll remove the box and put a cage around it to protect it from the deer and groundhogs. I'll also use netting.
Every few weeks I put in a few cups of compost around the plant. I always water slowly, directly around the plant's base.
Yes, it's a lot of work but not doing it just results in the disappointment of my plant being eaten by wildlife.
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