Protection from Rabbits for Small Plants and Seedlings

I have had quite an issue around here with rabbits eating specific plants. I’ve used milk or vinegar jug tops in the past, but I have run into various problems while using them.
It’s simple to make small, single-plant seedling cages that can be reused and easily stored and can solve those problems.

Materials:

-Stakes, I use cedar shims, like these:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unb...

-Screen
I use this as it allows good light and airflow:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/New...

-Utility Knife and/or Heavy Duty Shears

-Regular Office Stapler

First cut the shims length-wise into two or three pieces. BE VERY CAREFUL not to cut yourself if using a utility knife. Make multiple light passes instead of trying to cut completely through the shim on the first pass. You usually will need at least four stakes per cage.


Next, cut the screen material into pieces. I use 16” shims and I like to have 3-4” in the ground, so I cut my screen material about 12” long.
Then figure and cut the width. For example, if you want a cage 4” wide (with four stakes) you will want a piece about 16”-17” wide (4”x4 sides=16”).


After that, it’s just a matter of stapling the screen to the shims. You’ll want to put a piece of wood (or something similar) under the shim when stapling because the staple ends might poke through.


Staple the screen flush at the thick shim end (the end that will be the top) and leave the thin end of the shim with no screen.


Here the screen is getting stapled to more shims.


There, now you have a reusable cage that easily can be stored flat. If the bottom of the shim ever rots or breaks, it is just a matter of stapling a new shim to the old one.


If the ground is very solid where you want to put the cage, you might have to loosen the dirt slightly to make the insertion of the stakes easier.

Here they are in use.
4" Wide Size


5" Wide Size


I use cedar shims for a ton of things. Here are more uses for them:
https://garden.org/ideas/view/...

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.