by Freda Merrel

Created on: July 01, 2008

You have to really be determined to grow a vegetable garden in the Rocky Mountain region where the season lasts less than 100 days, and where everyone, including the animals, gets "spring fever" and begin searching for growing things to eat.
I planted squash, cucumbers, pole beans, a hill of pumpkins and tomato plants in the ground inside a non-heated greenhouse. The craving for spring gave me the incentive to watch diligently for anything to sprout. After about five days I started looking for the sprouting squash and cucumber seeds by gently brushing away the top soil. I found the seeds but no sprouts. I looked closer; the inside of the seeds were gone! I dug up the whole row of squash seeds and found only empty seed shells with a corner or side nibbled away. I went over to the cucumbers and pumpkins and found the same sad story.

At first I thought it was earwigs eating the seed meats. And how I dreaded the thought of using any pesticide. I had used commercial pesticides two years ago, and now I get a swelling in my throat and nose whenever I go into someone's garage or storage shed if they have a bag or can of that poison, even if it has never been opened.. The more natural way of capturing them in a PVC pipe might work if I had time, but I needed to get my seeds replanted to take advantage of the short season.
As I was contemplating what to do, I noticed the bean seeds were starting to sprout in odd places, not in the nice straight rows by the mesh fence panels I had placed to support the growing vines. In fact there were little piles of sprouting bean seeds four feet from the bean row. What mysterious thing was happening to my garden?
It couldn't be earwigs; they might eat out the seeds, but what about the little piles of beans. I sat still, wondering.
Soon there began a scratching sound and two mice came under the stiff fiberglass. They went straight to the squash grow box and came up through a corner and started flipping the light humus soil. They brought up more "whole" seeds and resumed their feast. I thought I had the mystery solved, but as I sat there a movement caught my attention from across the green house. A gopher came up out of a hole and went straight to the beans. I sat very still and then as if the whole community of rodents were invited, two chipmunks, probably from our woodpile's population, came in the open door.
I felt out numbered. There was nothing growing yet, nor would those hollow seeds ever grow.
I like little creatures, but not

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