Growing my own vegetables has always seemed like a doable thing. In February I start looking at seed catalogs. I am wowed over the beautiful chards, striped tomatoes and unusual gourds. In March, I think about starting seeds but usually don't get them going til April.

This year, I decided to try out Four Square vegetable gardening. My garden looks so well organized. Is is a method of intensive gardening whereby each squarefoot holds a certain number of plants depending on what you're growing in that square. For example, one square foot for one tomato plant. One square foot can hold 4 lettuce or 6 pea plants. The lettuce seedlings I bought from the Tricycle Garden did so well and were delicious.The greenbeans, cucumbers,pepper plants and chard looked  lovely until last week.....

I find that I am not match for the critters. 

We have the groundhogs, Percy and Mazzie. This year they have not been quite so bold....yet.

 
 My biggest rival right now is a very rascally raccoon. The raccoon has remained unnamed unless you count what I call it under my breath. She (or he) not only deflated our fun inflatable pool but also  had a blast tearing apart the new $8 Slip and Slide. I know because she left prints everywhere. She woke me up three time this week rummaging through the recycling. Little creature really wanted to open the peanut butter container. Raccoon has also nibbled all the tender tendrils of my greenbeans and swiped several cucumbers. She made my pepper plants and ruby swiss chard disappear.

You can deter a groundhog to some extent but what can you do about a raccoon? Smart little badass.

All I know is I'm thankful these critters don't have a taste for butternut squash, granny plum melons, tomatoes or basil because I would cry.

photo by Kimmy Certa, Howdershi in his Catnip Pot , 2008