Has anyone got suggestions for watering 5-gallon buckets? Depends on how much time you have to regularly and dependably water. If you know you aren't going to be able to water more than once per day then use a growing mix that majors in water retention to extend the watering interval. If watering at least once a day is not a big deal, then choose a highly porous, fast draining mix that offers tons of aeration and then water whenever you even think the plants might need it. When in doubt, water. Over watering isn't likely with veggies in a super fast draining mix. If you know you won't be able to keep up with the watering demands of a super porous mix, but want the benefits of the superior aeration anyway, go with an automated drip irrigation system. Another option is to use a larger container. The larger the container volume, the more water it can hold. The more water it can hold, the longer the interval between your having to water. Yet another option is to make the 5 gallon bucket into a self watering container. This will also extend the watering interval. It's all about what will work for the plants as well as the plant grower. You just gotta go with what is the best compromise for the both of you ;-)

I've tried mylar on the ground. My intention was more in the hopes of confusing cucumber beetles than to increase reflected sunlight. I also use mylar in the winter months to bounce light back around my grow light setups and off the north side of my cold frames. The mylar will increase reflected light, but I don't think it will correct any serious light deficiencies. It might be that you can only grow veggies that can tolerate partial light in your wooded garden. Another option to consider in lieu of chopping down trees is "limbing up." Removing some of the lower limbs and thinning crowding limbs where you find them can increase the light that reaches the ground quite a bit, while leaving your mature trees. We found a dramatic difference in the light reaching our butterfly garden after we took a couple limbs out of a wildly-growing linden tree. And we still get to enjoy having an enormous mature tree. If you do use mylar, it does tend to age and get fragile in the sun and elements. So remove it and throw it away before it starts to fragment on you. I left mine too long and it was quite a mess to try to pick up. I'm still picking up fragments of it over a year later.

Armadillos aren't interested in your brocolli or any other vegetable, although they will unintentionally uproot plants in their quest for worms and grubs. Sounds like your troublemakers are rabbits. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that you'll ever be able to coax a rabbit into a cage trap. Same goes for armadillos. At least I never have. That plastic owl might work for a while, but like every other non-lethal deterrent, the varmints will quickly get used to it and ignore it. As I've said before, the only answer is trapping and shooting. It took quite a bit of bloodletting, but I eventually "cleaned up Dodge City" around here.

Last year, our local council gave us all wheelie bins. This has done more to stop visits by foxes / crows / magpies and rats than any action by individuals. It reinforces the point made by Shrubs and others that if you deny them easily-accessible food, you won't be troubled by them. If you feel you have to take direct measures, remember that they prefer to move beside walls and fences. One approach is to make a wooden "tunnel" about 8" square x 18" long and position it by a likely wall. This is used to house a tray of poison or a break-back trap. Used in this way, cats / hedgehogs etc should be kept from harm, while Mr Rat will walk right in!