How To: Protect your garden from the elements and animals

When protecting your garden, you can stay green with some environmentally sound solutions.
You Will Need
* 1 A tape measure
* 2 Two lightweight polyester row covers
* Work clothes
* 1 Safety glasses
* Garden gloves
* 8 oz. 8 oz. Bt powder
* Distilled water
* 1 A spray bottle
* 20 20 bricks
* 1 A shovel
* A second row cover

Step 1
With a tape measure, determine the dimensions of your garden. Get lightweight polyester row covers big enough to cover your entire garden.

Add an extra foot to the garden dimensions when buying row covers.

Step 2
Dress in a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, safety glasses, and gloves.

Step 3
Mix 8 ounces of Bt powder, which contains bacteria that attack bugs but is harmless to humans and pets, with a quart of distilled water in the spray bottle. Douse plant leaves with the Bt spray.

Tap water can kill the bacteria in Bt, so always use bottled water.

Step 4
Unroll a row cover and place it gently over your plant bed; the material is light enough to "float" on top of the plants. Use the bricks to weigh down the sides and secure the cover in place. If deer and rabbits treat your garden like a buffet, take your shovel and bury the edges in the soil.

Step 5
If frost is in the weather forecast, use two row covers on your plant bed at night.

Fact: New Zealand gardeners use lizards to keep insects under control.