Nooo! How To Stop Possums Eating My Plants
Grrrr - waking up to a bunch of nibbled vegetables was not the plan!
If you have ever had the very Brisbane experience of watching your newly planted vegetables or seedlings get nibbled down to nothing by local possums, I feel you, because it just happened to me!
There is nothing more annoying or demoralising after spending ages growing your own seedlings or setting up raised garden beds then to have all your hard work go out the window overnight, but - as I have advised numerous people over the years, do not let little challenges stop you on the way to having a backyard filled with homegrown produce!
I generally take it as a compliment that possums and other wildlife are attracted to my organic vegetables and they’re going to go ahead and eat them until they can’t, so it’s on me to (kindly) out manoeuvre them. If you’re wondering how to stop possums eating your plants, I’ve included the simple steps I have taken below to rescue and revive the last of the spinach, rocket and lettuce I recently planted! (And just a note, I never, ever use chemicals, sprays or traps or hurt wildlife.)
My recently planted raised garden beds filled with lettuce, rocket and spinach, now all chomped through by possums (above) and a seed tray with mostly bitten stalks!
How To Stop Possums Eating My Plants! | Brisbane Edition
#1 Move your plants! It seems to simple, but I’ve found that one of the simplest ways to deter possums from eating my garden is to move it to a new spot. Obviously if you have a fixed garden bed this isn’t possible, but as I’m currently growing in raised beds I moved my planter boxes from my downstairs courtyard up to my balcony. In the past I have moved pots with herbs in them to new spots too and it did the trick.
#2 Cover with bird netting: Possums seem to love eating tender little seedlings rather than fully grown plants, so a simple option in the early stages of a veggie garden is to cover everything with bird netting. I’ve bought inexpensive $7 bird netting from Bunnings and either thrown it over the garden or hung it over garden stakes. It stops possums getting access to the veggies and then a few weeks later when the plants are more mature, I feel okay to take it off. (See in the image above how the larger cress was left along but all the little lettuce seedlings were eaten).
#3 Replant! Sometimes nibbled plants can be revived, for example I believe that there is still enough foliage on the lettuce and spinach above for them to come back to life and keep growing (as long as I either move or cover them this time). However, if there is just a tiny stalk left which often happens with little tomato seedlings, unfortunately they are not going to grow back. Sure, you can give up…or you can just plant some more seeds and have a plan this time to help them stay protected from hungry possums!
It ain’t pretty, but it does the trick: $7 bird netting, garden stakes and pegs to the rescue!
Another angle of how I stopped my possum friends from eating my plants
Looking for more information? Check out my take on Growing Vegetables In Brisbane (In Minutes) and 4 Tips For Growing Veggies In Raised Garden Beds.
