I live in a heavily wooded 5 acre lot, with similar lots adjacent, so keeping critters out is a challenge. But even in suburban areas, squirrels, cats and the like are a headache.
This year I used Dr. Earth Life (there are various Dr. Earth mixtures with different designations) when moving trees to bonsai mixes. It is organic and inoculates with mycorrhiza.
I immediately had trouble with pests. Initially I suspected ground squirrels due to previous incidents of digging. Later I believe that a stray cat and possibly racoons were also likely. I started with net baskets with a spike on the bottom that held about 3/4 tablespoon of fertilizer. I would find them pulled out and opened and then left. I tried moth balls and other methods to discourage the miserable vermin. It was only partially successful - and I may have gained a cat and other critters.
All of these items can be found on Amazon.
So, I went to Amazon and got some 2 inch net pots used for hydroponics.
2 inch net potInitially I tried putting a screw through the bottom of the pot to anchor it with the open end up. I got some tea bag paper and put that in the bottom of the pot, added fertilizer and inserted the pot/screw in the pot media. This didn't anchor well, especially in coarse or loose nursery soil, and it was a bunch of extra work. Even worse the critters just pulled them out. I gave up on the tea bag paper and started using tea bags with draw stings. Still I would find the stuff pulled out, opened and usually left scattered.So, ordered some 3mm bamboo skewers and some 2 inch net pot collars:
Net pot with collarI used 12 inch skewers and cut them in half with concave cutters at an angle so that I had a bit of a sharp point for insertion. I would put the skewer through the small opening in the collar (there by manufacturer) and through one of the holes in the bottom of the pot. This generally worked, but I didn't feel like the tea bags and fertilizer were getting enough water to be effective. So after deploying 50+ of these, I went back and opened the collar as you see in the above image. After a couple of weeks, I still didn't think that the fertilizer was being broken down and to the media. So I took off all the collars, made sure that the skewer went through the tea bag, a hole in the net pot and into the soil. When it came time to do the next fertilization, I decided to turn the net pots upside down with the open end down and put the tea bag on the soil. Since the fertilizer is still breaking down, I left the first net pots and fertilizer on and added the next batch and used BioGold. I put the desired amount in the net pot and turned it upside down and used two skewers in a cris-cross fashion as seen above. I have not noticed them being pulled out (yet). As you can see, I started marking the date on the pot. This is done with a Sharpie paint pen. You can see the date in the first picture.Sharpie paint penThe markings can be removed with isopropyl alcohol and the net pot reused. I have been marking the top and the side, mostly out of caution.All of this stuff can be found on Amazon. You might be able to split an order of the net pots if your need is minimal. Given that you are probably going to use 2 or three of these on an 8 inch pot, and more for larger pots, the usage goes up quickly - especially if you have two sets of pots on after the second fertilization. I think it is wise to leave the first batch on two months. It seems to me that the tea bags slow the process. BioGold shows nearly immediate reaction to water and if in contact with the soil, it will begin breaking down quickly. Given the extra cost of BioGold, I would prefer to not have it scattered about by critters.I have taken other measures to try to reduce critter traffic. It is hard to know what is truly effective. I put up these repellers:It is hard to know what impact these have. The instructions indicate the height is important, depending on the animal. I can say that it _seems_ to have stopped the deer from grazing on nearly open rose buds. I am tempted to put up 3 more. The lights only come on at night, and I know that there have been visitors on a couple of occasions during the night. Article by Greg Filter
