I'm Waging war on cute fluffy creatures

A few months ago I posted about starting my first real backyard garden (as opposed to the container gardening I've been doing the last several years).  This larger than expected undertaking is most of the reason why its been a month since I last posted.  In many ways it has been rewarding. I get some good zen moments weeding and digging in the dirt each day and am having fun watching my future refrigerator contents growing and becoming ripe..... not to mention creating recipes to enjoy them.

Unfortunately two major issues have halted my progress: a large groundhog and a very cute baby bunny. I noticed about a month ago my lettuce plants weren't thriving the way I expected and some of them had been munched down to the stalks.  The following morning I let a loud squeal as I viewed my first groundhog in super proximity. My husband thought it was hilarious. Groundhogs are not something I ever dealt with in Maryland and they definitely are much bigger than I expected.  I had no idea how destructive they could be either (his tunneling seems to be part of the cause of all the moisture in our basement too).

I begged my husband to try to come up with a humane way (most people around here just shoot them) of dealing with our unwelcome garden inhabitants.  They have taken residence under our deck it seems and enjoying each others company as roommates. After finding their entrance routes we tried blocking the area with stones and spraying the area with vinegar. My understanding is that if the groundhog is grumpy he'll go away on his own.

We thought this was working, no major munching for about 2 weeks and then I came out one day and my new broccoli plants had been eaten down to the roots. Apparently the ground hog love broccoli, while the bunny friend has been working on my newly sprouted cabbage leaves. I'm starting to feel a bit like Bill Murray in Caddyshack ( I know he was matchign wits with a gopher but it feels the same), constantly researching and trying new strategies to deter this groundhog as he seems to be getting fatter and my yard is paying the price.

Here are the latest tips I'm going to try I'll let you know how it goes:
1) groundhogs don't like areas with out a lot of cover so I'm making sure the piles of brush from our yard are to be moved elsewhere/ destroyed so its no longer near our garden
2) groundhogs don't like motion or noise so some pretty pinwheels and windchimes will be finding their way into my garden. Scarecrows apparently seem to help as well.
3) I'll be fencing in the lowest of my 4 raised garden beds (which I find frustrating but oh well. The taller beds are too high for the groundhog and bunny to get into, so those plants have escaped the carnage.  Fences should be about 3 ft tall and a foot deep into the ground from all the articles I've read
4) Groundhogs don't like the smell of epsom salts and apparently the plants in question like it. I'll be sprinkling them around hoping it will help deter the groundhog's healthy appetite.

Wish me luck! In the meantime I'll be posting some of my recent food experiment successes. It is summer so I am now officially craving crab and am a bit homesick.  Check out the blog tomorrow for my crab tostada recipe. It was delicious!