Well Jack, you are wrong, again! I did not "do a search for 'are there any vegetables that critters will not eat' when you already knew the answer was no". You see, after I finished reading all of these wonderful and informative comments, I did further research and LEARNED (because I am still capable of admitting I don't know everything) that deer/critters in one area will eat some things while deer/critters in other areas eat other things and that most vegetables will ultimately be subject to deer/critter consumption. But you have to admit you have a way of going off topic.

I've been reading anything I can find on deterring deer, rabbits, groundhogs and chipmunks since we have them in great numbers here due to overdevelopment. What a dope I was thinking we just had ONE cute little groundhog that I named "Puffalump"...the day last year when I was sitting in the garage and saw three of them sauntering down the driveway was when I knew there was trouble in Dodge! Friends put fencing extended 18 inches in the ground and they still dug under it. What I've found so far that I'm going to try in a total defensive attempt to let my new butterfly garden grow to bloom this year is: 1) Whirlygigs - supposedly groundhogs are timid and get frightened easily 2) Critter Ridder (non-toxic) granules around perimeter of garden - supposedly works on all critters except squirrels who are only a problem eating as much bird seed as they can get. 3) Reflective Horned Owl (Gardener's Supply & many other online sellers) - going to keep this lower to ground than instructed because I don't want to scare away birds that will also be dining on some things in butterfly garden but groundhogs & rabbits are supposedly scared by the holographic sight of a Great Horned Owl. We'll see how daring they are. 4) Chicken Wire on ground of garden perimeter - supposedly if deer walk on it they can't be sure of their footing so they'll avoid area. I'll believe it when I see it. So far no critters have disturbed any of the spring bulbs either in containers or gardens I planted last fall. Probably just random, dumb luck but I sprayed bulbs with some organic odiferous stuff & wrapped them in steel wool as those were also suggested in articles. Bulbs are all sprouting (except for tulips thank goodness) due to unseasonably warm weather here. No matter what, I suspect the rabbits won't care what I do to keep them away from the tulips I just had to plant for old time's sake. It's been thirty years since a single tulip has made it past its first show of leaves without being clipped by tiny teeth right down to the ground. Bulbs I can stand to lose to a degree in the long run. My new butterfly garden is a WHOLE 'nother story...LOL. Besides...as we speak the three groundhogs I know we've got under the shed out back are probably reproducing as I type and they'll be leading a parade of little groundhogs to everything and anything that's green and tender! For about two minutes I thought of investing in one of those motion activated water sprayers but then realized I certainly didn't want to contribute to powdery mildew on all my precious plants in the butterfly garden since I won't spray in there. Unless I plan on putting up a pup tent in the middle of the butterfly garden I MUST adjust sometime to the fact that there will be damage. It's just a question of how much since we can't stand guard 24/7. Good luck to one and all in the critter battles.

Brigitte, that picture is impressive to say the least. I know right where Ville Platte is, went by it every time I went to work in south Louisiana or Texas, for that matter. The Achafalaya Swamp has a LOT of cold blooded critters that would be unpleasant to encounter anywhere, but especially in your yard. I was working in Intracoastal City, end of the road. Driving to the grocery store, I saw this humongous moccasin that was road kill. Popped my deckhand out of the car to bag that snake for me. I fixed it onto a very wide board that was 6 feet long, and had to curl the tail up to get it all on the board. Covered it in resin. Took it home and hung it above my little dock. Let me tell you, in the 17 years I lived at MoccasinLanding, with that snake hanging from a post beside the dock, no a person ever ventured into my yard, no matter how many months I was gone to work offshore. Something like YOUR snake, wow, that should stop a burglar dead in their tracks---in more ways than one. While I have many friends along the river here, I'm not sure many of them have problems with snakes. My vet had a dachshund come in for snakebite, it was bitten on the head and the picture showed how swollen the muzzle became. Schnauzers and doxies are varmint catchers, so you've got a job teaching them not to react instinctively. Has he ever CAuGHT a snake before? Even non-poisonous snakes strike and bite, many dogs with the desire to hunt snakes are quick of movement, and avoid being bitten. Hope you find a way to teach your schnauzer to handle itself. Ask your vet about any other people in the Lafayette or Baton Rouge area that might be interested in the training. Lafayette is 350 miles from here, not many people willing to go that far from Mobile.

First off, let me say I just love pictures. I love seeing what everyone else is doing. Randy, I'm quite impressed with your greenhouse. Sammy, I live in a small town, not a lot different from Sheriff Taylor's Mayberry. I garden in my back yard. Currently I have three raised beds 4'x 24', a pipe and stock panel grape arbor about that same size, a pipe and stock panel trellis that goes all along the front of my shed, maybe 2' x 36' and a triangle of a herb garden in the 12' space between the shed and the back porch. I have two small raised beds in that space because there was a tree there and it is still decomposing but is not far enough gone that other plants can get their roots down very far. I found last year I could plant in SOME places, so it's getting there. When they cut the tree, we had them grind the stump down, but it was a huge tree that shaded out everything in that area and dripped sap almost all the time, and it had an extensive root system. Several times we had a limb fall that came dangerously close to hitting the house, so we were glad to get the tree removed. I start plants in several ways. Even though I said I wouldn't do it this way again, I did sow some seed that had to be winter planted in soil in milk jugs. I notice there's already something up in one of them. Some things, like poppy seed and red clover, I had enough seed that I could just scatter some on top of the soil in one of the raised beds in the herb garden, and cover with chopped leaves. I noticed a discussion here about how you really don't need to chop leaves, and that's somewhat true, but I find that they blow around, and they have a way of refusing to be buried sometimes. So for me, it's just easier to chop them. It improves their ability to break down, as well. As you can see, some of them don't chop up very well. Those big pieces will probably be in my fenceline by the time the wind gets done with them. I have 2 apple trees, a Santa Rosa plum tree and two Red Haven peach trees (well, one has reverted to the rootstock, but I have kept it around because when the other tree bears, It makes a lot. I will replace it eventually. But anyway, most of the leaves that I get in my yard come from other people's trees, or those out in the park, courtesy of the wind. Last fall and this spring, every time I have seen bags of leaves on the curb on my block, I have taken them before the garbage truck comes. My next door neighbors rake their leaves and just put the bags of them up against my house. Living on the back of the city park has lots of advantages, but if you want a leaf-free yard, that's not one of them. I have cabbage, bunching onion, tomatoes, potatoes and some jicama planted inside under light, either in trays or newspaper cups, depending on how sensitive their root systems are to being transplanted. The only critters that I have trouble with are the family pets, a few garter snakes, an occasional vole, and toads. It has been a struggle to keep Pearl, the cat, out of the raised beds. She just loves freshly dug, soft dirt. So I try to keep a stock panel flat on the ground wherever I have planted anything or she will go right to it and dig into it with those big furry paws of hers. And then there's Sonny, the dog, who likes to pee on everything. Fortunately, he's kind of leery of 'structures' so stock panels standing on their sides will keep him at bay. He doesn't pee or leave other gifts in the paths between the raised beds. I don't know why, I'm just grateful. He likes to make his rounds out there, guard dog fashion. Once there was a garter snake that lived in one of the raised beds amongst some mature tomato plants. The white fur around Sonny's neck was green all summer from sticking his head in between the plants trying to get to that snake. The vole has done some major damage in my yard in years past, even getting into the raised beds. It didn't eat my plants, it just burrowed too close to the roots and either uprooted things or caused the roots to dry out. This year I'm going to be putting down some milky spore disease to kill the grubs that are attracting the vole. We get an occasional skunk but usually they're just passing through. There are so many dogs in my neighborhood, one of them always spooks it and we wake up to that smell in the air some mornings. I don't leave my dog outside at night like most of my neighbors do. Toads abound out in the park, and my neighbor on the south has a koi pond so a lot of them hang out there. But I get my share. If I have plants set out on the front porch, it's not uncommon to look down and see a fat little warty guy sitting in one of the pots. They kind of dig down when they settle in so even though they're not trying to kill the plant that's in the pot, usually they do. Last spring when I was carrying things in and out, I accidentally carried in a toad. I don't know who was more startled, him or me! Wish I had taken a picture of that. I have a lot of trouble with the birds poking holes in my tomatoes and my fruit, so Dawn I'm going to take your advice and put out plenty of water this summer.