Mr. Groundhog causes havoc in garden

It was early June and the most beautiful crop of sunflowers sprung up from the warm ground in a raised bed laid out under our old hay rake. The planting scheme had been carefully planned: a tall row of sunflowers in the back, several hills of pumpkins to the front and morning glories planted at the base of each huge, steel wheel to creep among the plants and along the rusted, weather-beaten steel of the rake. All the plants looked deliciously healthy, poking their tender heads through the soil in early spring and, later, reaching optimistically skyward in the early summer sun.

Life was good.

Until Mr. Groundhog came along, that is.

You’ve heard the complaints before: The greedy, ever-feeding chompers of the pesky critters have wreaked havoc in gardens far and wide. Here, never has one gone on such a wild rampage as this. Mr. Groundhog’s destruction has come in fits and spurts this year, yielding, overall, quite a bundle of damage on the pretty plants that showed such promise under the hay rake.

It started in mid-July, when the buds on the sunflowers started to form. Overnight he plucked those plump morsels and nearly all the luscious leaves that surrounded them. Stripped stalks quickly regenerated more leaves and gave a fascinating push of gusty life that delivered an amazing amount of half-sized flowers by August.

Meanwhile, underneath, the pumpkins burst with growth. Among huge leaves, orange flowers turned to the most perfect, beautifully proportioned jack-o’-lantern pumpkins in late September.

Or, rather, they were perfect until Mr. Groundhog came along again.

Fact is, the furry beast found in each an easy cache of seeds. He nibbled and gnawed through the thick, tough rind. He munched clear through the hard, orange-pink flesh. Once the threadlike inner pulp and the tasty white seeds were exposed, Mr. Groundhog hit pay dirt. His furry little head completely inside the pumpkin at this point, he must have hungrily devoured the seed from several pumpkins each night. A few of the round fruits must have given him a run for his money: they lay a good 50 feet away from their hay rake bed, mauled and mangled. Munched and minced.

Although he incites one to a state of fury, one really can’t blame the critter for enjoying a good stash of seed. This time of year, fresh pumpkin and squash seed, cleaned from the inside of the large fruits and lightly oiled and salted, may be roasted for a nutritious snack. Fact is, we eat lots of seeds and may not think twice about it.

Peanuts, soybeans, walnuts, almonds and pecans: They are all delicious seeds, high in plant protein and “good” fats. Caraway seed, fennel seed and anise seed each yield a distinctive, pungent flavor valued in baking and cooking. Oil from the anise seed is used as a flavoring and for medicinal purposes.

Naturally, when we eat popcorn, we’re eating seeds. Grains, including oats, wheat and millet are also seeds. Flour is made by milling and grinding these crops into a powder.

Since the dawning of agriculture, seeds have provided an important source of nutrients to the human diet. The balance between saving enough seed for future production and producing enough seed for consumption must have been tenuous at times. The situation in the pumpkin patch this summer was a microcosmic illustration of the timeless three-way struggle for foodstuffs between the gardener-farmer, beast and nature.

Readers, please take note: Many times over the past years I’ve recommended having your soil tested through The University of Maine’s Analytical Lab.

Please note that while the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service provides a free testing kit, the Analytical Lab testing service requires a minimal charge.

A standard test offers analysis of a soil’s pH, organic matter content, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, sulfur and sodium (on request) content as well as a lead scan and a lime and fertilizer recommendation. It costs $12. Additional tests require additional fees.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, 512 North Ridge Road, Montville 04941, or e-mail dianagc@midcoast.com. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.