Gophers?

[the rrock]

Questioning if gophers tend to be a problem. Been growing indoor for decades,got some land and am gonna do a couple dozen outdoors,soil is rich so Im going inground(plants are already couple feet tall with established roots).Seen some holes around but havent seen many gophers. Should I take preventative measures before planting. I am in hills north of Santa Cruz,any local or other input would be appreciated.

 

[LittleDabbie]

Although they aerate the soil through their tunneling activities and work to increase soil fertility, gophers eat the root systems they find as they channel their homes. They will occasionally come to surface to pull vegetation underground with them. This is bad news for the marijuana garden, or any garden for that matter.



Theres some natural remedies you can try, but i doubt much is going to stand n the way of mother nature. Other then natural predators..

 

[organicpanic]

I grow food outside in a gopher rich area. The only thing I can do is line beds/holes with metal chicken wire. Tried everything smoke bombs, traps, flooding, poisen the cats do pretty good. But since your plants are in ground already good luck

 

[the rrock]

plants are not in ground yet,been under 18/6 for 8 weeks,will get some chicken wire, thanks for input guys

 

[CelticEBE]

yeah....I had a gopher pull a young plant into the ground years back. Beds with hardware cloth work great. Having dogs in the area will discourage the pesky varmits as well.

Worst case scenario.....go Bill Murray on em.

 

[kolah]

1/4" or 1/2" hardware cloth. I prefer 1/4" if you can find it.

Chicken wire won't work, IMO.

 

[Seamaiden]

Questioning if gophers tend to be a problem. Been growing indoor for decades,got some land and am gonna do a couple dozen outdoors,soil is rich so Im going inground(plants are already couple feet tall with established roots).Seen some holes around but havent seen many gophers. Should I take preventative measures before planting. I am in hills north of Santa Cruz,any local or other input would be appreciated.

You really need to talk to locals to know. Where I used to live in SoCal gophers were a HUGE problem. Up here in this particular location I've never seen one, but I have seen maybe a half a dozen gopher holes since moving here. We know a guy, he works with @pinegrovedave but lives in the next county over. Apparently he's got a bit of a gopher problem. I call him Frank the Red. I'll let Dave tell you what Frank the Red tried to get rid of his gophers.

plants are not in ground yet,been under 18/6 for 8 weeks,will get some chicken wire, thanks for input guys

Not chicken wire, hardware cloth. Quarter inch.

 

[pinegrovedave]

We know a guy, he works with @pinegrovedave but lives in the next county over. Apparently he's got a bit of a gopher problem. I call him Frank the Red. I'll let Dave tell you what Frank the Red tried to get rid of his gophers.

Not chicken wire, hardware cloth. Quarter inch.

OMG...That is indeed one HILARIOUS story! Even funnier than the antics of Bill Murray in "Caddyshack". Let me get my crew out the door and I'll put it up. Stay tuned...

 

[organicpanic]

Yeah hardware cloth. I happen to have an abundance of chicken wire and various rolls and scraps of metal fencing so I layer it all offset. Wasnt really thinking. My first garden I dug out and filled 4 4x8 beds in DG/hardpan. Layed 1 layer of chicken wire. That was a mistake. Also ive learned in ground even with a good perimeter they just tunnel from the top. This year hardware cloth and 6-8 inches of straw mulch on top will help hopefully. Cat has got atleast 3 in the last week.

 

[pinegrovedave]

OK...So I've got this friend in the next county over and he had a HORRIFIC gopher problem, right? He's also the type of guy who keeps an immaculate front yard (landscaped, etc.). Anyway, he tried everything to eradicate the gophers to no avail. As a last resort, he got one of those devices to fill up the tunnel(s) with propane and ignite it. He begins by filling up the tunnel, and seeing how he has been fighting gophers for many, many months and losing, he made "extra certain" that this was going to be "The Final Solution"...

He sets the trigger, steps back, pushes the button, and....

LMAO!!!! His whole front yard exploded!!!! So much for his meticulous gardening and landscaping, yeah?

 

[hogheaven]

I wouldn't have done that if I were him...

He's never heard of gophers with guns?

 

[ChalkyWhite]

another option is burying your starts in cloth pots like geopots/smartpots what i'll most likely end up doing If I don't go with beds.

 

[Blaze]

Don't bury them in smart pots, it will severely retard root growth and the gophers can still chew right through them. Hardware cloth or a good barn cat is usually your best bet.

 

[ChalkyWhite]

you sure blaze? guys that have been doing it with good results year after year in the Tom hill large plant thread im most likely going beds ... would a gopher eat through that material or just find away around?

 

[CelticEBE]

you sure blaze? guys that have been doing it with good results year after year in the Tom hill large plant thread im most likely going beds ... would a gopher eat through that material or just find away around?

a gopher would most certainly tear right through a smart pot.....especially if he was following roots. Hardware cloth isn't that pricey.

 

[monkeymun]

Would it get through cloth too?

 

[Blaze]

you sure blaze? guys that have been doing it with good results year after year in the Tom hill large plant thread im most likely going beds ... would a gopher eat through that material or just find away around?

Absolutely, I've seen in first hand many times. The roots will through the smart pot eventually, but at far slower rate than through soil, which in turn slows growth considerably. Rapid expansion of the root mass is very important in getting healthy, rapid growth.

 

[shaganja]

Found a hole going to the main stem. This fucker ate alot of root material. Now to see if she will recover, and flower, or die. And also have fusarium wilt happening. The weed gods hate me.