Hey, That does seem like a challenge to have to put up with all that work. Keeping it alive from your husband, your family, and neighbors. Even then after that there is still the animals. I wish the best of luck to you and I hope your garden turns out beautiful and more people come to appreciate it.

If nothing else, gardening tends to be very soothing and it sounds like you need that in your life, especially with twins.  I am rooting for you ( get it) and hope that you grown wonderful, beautiful vegetables and proof them all wrong.

I am with you 100%  the tide and opinions are not meaningful...You're acccomplishment is.  Check with your city/county about pest trapping.  In our area they remove pest if you put out the traps.  If not there are pelettes you can put out - but check about them - it can also hurt the dogs.  Explain to your husband that the soap from the car is going into the soil and he and the twins will be eating it.  Have you considered putting in a short chicken wire fence to redirect the dogs?  It is inexpensive and transpartent to you.  Oh and get some orange cones to stop people fromo mauling into your garden.  Try the sporting goods store - the cones they use as markers a soccer games should be inexpensive and get your idea out there.  Have you googled the master gardeners in your area?  It would be great to have local support.  And no matter how much we love our parents - we are supposed to evolve - they don't have to understand.   CHeers to you and what you are creating for you kids.  My 9 year old loves the garden.  Through it he is developing compassion and eating better - he asks for veggies and last week told me he didn't want a hamburger because he ate all this yummy spinach at the farmers market!

Thanks to you all for your support! Regarding the pest trapping, I've thought trapping would be the environmental way to go (no poisons), but here's my worry: If the rat drags the trap under the deck or next to the house, they will die there and be impossible to get out....or we won't know they're there until it starts to smell terrible. Any suggestions?
"Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit." --Pliny the Elder

Bridget,

After I got over admiring your face, I came up with the answer to your dreams.

Go to Walmart and buy as many 12" plastic pots you can set. Cut the bottom off each, drill about 4 - 1" holes at the sides near the bottom.

Dig a hole in the ground to set them in about 18" apart for tomatoes. Place the pot in the ground with the lids about 3" above the ground. Put enough Miracle grow in the pot about 1" from the top. Take your small tomato plants and strip off all the stems to about 3 " from the top. Bury the plant all the way ( about 80 % )letting only the top leaves showing in the miracle grow.  Water, add some mulch, then wipe the rim clean. Then, and be careful here, wipe some bug killer on the top of the round lid. make sure you add enough. Then, put some mulch around the pot.

This will make it easy to weed, easy to water, and easy to fertilize. Make sure you fertilize at least once a week. You can put a tomato wire cage if you want to or a stake.

Here in Texas, it gets hot and the water I add is sure to go to the roots. If you don't get tomatos now, reread the steps above. I plant Romas, and Celiberty girls only. by  celiberty girls, I don't mean Paris Hilton, I mean celiberty girl brand of tomato. I spelled it wrong, I know.

Good luck.. Gero5

Bridget, I'm surprised that you're so concerned about rats interfering with your gardening activities.  Sure, you should try to get rid of them, though you'll have to find a way that doesn't endanger your children or dogs.  But I have never had a problem with rats eating my vegetable plants or getting into my compost, generally because veggies and decomposing vegetable matter are not their food of choice.  They would much rather eat trash or kitchen refuse if they can get at it.  If you limit your compost to plant materials - no leftover kitchen scraps such as meat , cheese, or eggs - the rats will likely leave your compost alone too.  Good luck with getting rid of them!

p.s.  Also, you can get a commercially available compost maker with lid to keep out rats, raccoons, or any other unwelcome visitors.

soap isnt horrible for your garden, it actually can take care of a lot of unwanted garden bugs, just be careful what kind is being used, your tomatoes don't need to be waxed. We are actually in the planning stages of diverting our wash water into the backyard for irrigation use. Oh and you might not water your neighbors if you install a drip system. Bonus, drip systems are super easy to use as well a more effective at delivering moisture exactly where it's needed.

 

I'd risk trapping the rats, they are a big hazard and will give your dogs god knows what disease should they bite them in a tussle

 

I would also install one of those tire shredders and post a "severe tire damage" sign. maybe everyone would get the hint and stop parking on your parsnips.

Is that true that rats don't like veggies? So does that mean they won't even try to eat my squash, tomatoes and beans, etc when they (hopefully) come in?"

That really surprises me.

It also surprises me that soap won't bother my plants. Don't tell my husband that! He'll try washing even more stuff in the veggie patch.

What I really need is some sort of rat diversion plan -- where I install some sort of rat attraction outside our yard to draw them away. But what?

 --Bridget

Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit." --Pliny the Elder

maybe build a tiny ferris wheel in the neighbors yard?

 

 

Try a rat-trap overnight when dogs and kids are safely tucked away in bed.  Just remember to deal with it first thing in the a.m.!