Yum! my favorite!
my garden is an epic fail this year 
a product called hardware cloth can have small mesh sizes, even 1/4" or 1/8", but it is usually sold in rolls that are much larger than it sounds like you need.
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Do you think it’s nesting in that planter or just going in for a snack?
Thanks, but I just want to catch the rat! It always jumps in the same direction, and only after I ruffle through the herbs and strawberries, so it would be possible!
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There is nothing to eat in the planter, so it is likely it’s nesting. Resting after gorging on figs on the nearby tree!
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Good luck trapping and relocating it! That would freak me out every time!
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I think at some point, this rat has earned a name. I’m sure you can do better than Herb Eater or Woody. He’s an undesirable part of the family now, not just any rat. 
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I have a table-grape vine in my yard and this is the first year it produced large clusters, similar to the ones you’d get at the store. They are red table grapes and hadn’t turned color yet. Apparently in the past week some rodents have eaten almost all of them. I’m thinking that next year I might try building cages out of 1/4" hardware cloth. I’m wondering if anyone has done something similar and if so has some tips to pass on.
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All kinds of tomatoes POPPIN! I’ve been eating them with all meals, snacking on them and can’t keep up, lol. I might make a burst cherry tomato pasta to use up some.
I’ve given to my neighbor 3 times and this is only half my pickings today as I donated the other half for our local food banks through my community garden. They are delicious!
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What about getting a cat? (I’m not trying to be facetious.)
I have chicken-wire fencing around my garden plots; but I have seen squirrels climb up the metal poles to which the chicken wire is attached and then clamber down to the ground inside the garden, where they can get at my blackberries (now all gone for the season). You might need something with a top on it, as well as the sides.
I did exactly that over the past couple of weeks, except that I used 1/2” hardware cloth. I made a cylinder of hardware cloth, and permanently attached a circle of hardware cloth to one end. Then I cut 1” slots from the open end on both sides about 1 1/2” deep, and make a removable top to fit over the open end. The slots are to accommodate the vine (which has horizontal arms that the clusters of grapes hang down from). I tie gardening twine to the cylinders to hang from from the vine, and then tie the removable top on the open end.
I only made three of these about two weeks ago, and so we will have to wait and see whether they work. It is likely to take me a few days to get a picture.
One tip is to keep your tetanus shots up to date. While making these, it is very easy to poke yourself.
Edit: Here is a picture. These are Concord seedless grapes which produce relatively small clusters. I might need to make bigger cages if I get bigger clusters at some point.
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Thanks for the picture! I was thinking of just making pouches and squeezing them into an oval shape, what you’ve done looks much more professionally done. Is there a trick to getting the smooth round roll with the hardware cloth? What tool did you use to bend the wire at the end to attach it together?
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The hardware cloth comes in rolls, so it naturally wants to form a cylinder. I try not to fight its natural tendency. The cylinders are relatively easier to make (compared to the ends). In the photo the seam of the cylinder happens to be towards the camera, so you should be able to see some pieces of wire bent around another piece of wire, and also possibly see that there appears to be a half inch overlap. Sometimes, particularly for larger cages, I use a one inch overlap.
Then to attach a piece permanently to what is going to be the bottom end, I cut a square that is a bit too big from the original hardware cloth. Then I carefully flatten it, put it in position, and cut it down to size, leaving the bits of wire to do the wrapping. I use the sticking out ends of the hardware cloth and wrap it around the other piece that I want to attach it to. Occasionally a piece will break off and I will need to get another piece of wire to wrap around both pieces to replace it. I have gotten some practice making larger barriers to protect smallish plants (my biggest cages are 4 feet high), and some practice does seem to help.
The top is just a square, with the corners cut out, and the resulting tabs bent down.
When I cut the slots that the grape vine goes through, I cut away bits of the cylinder. Small parts fell down. It appears in the photo that one of the small parts, rather than being discarded, got trapped and is just loose in the bottom of the cylinder. Oops. I will fix this at some point.
I use wire cutters for the cutting, and needle nosed pliers for the bending. Most of the time I use one set of needle nosed pliers, but occasionally I need two, one in each hand.
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All my years of gardening and I’ve never heard of this method until my brother just shared it with me as they are building raised beds at their 2nd home which they are not always at. Has anyone tried these??
I have large terra cotta “spikes” that work in a similar manner. I can go 4-5 days without refilling them when it’s hot out. I’m assuming that I will be able to go longer without refilling them when it gets a bit cooler.
We were away for 10 days in one of the hottest parts of the summer and my yard sitter only had to come once to water for me and do the refills.
I’m also currently using a water wicking capillary system for my raised veggie patch. I have the ends of the cords in a large watering can. It seems to be working well.
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Do you know where you purchased your spikes from?
It was from Amazon.
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The tomatoes are coming in droves!!! Slow down! Here’s what I picked just last night And here is a sauce recipe that I’ve made twice this week - super easy and very delicious!
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