Growing Together: Open Forum

We have two different gopher situations at school. 

1. Definitely gopher(s) that got in past the gopher wire (beds built by pros a little over a year ago) and have been moving around in a few of the beds.  I haven't seen them destroy any vegetables yet but they were in beds that didn't have much growing in them this summer.
2. Possibly/probably gophers in an older garden area in the kindergarten yard - but I see distinct holes under the wood beds.  Do gophers sometimes leave the holes uncovered? 
   There is an approx 2-3"wide hole on one end and a big pile of dirt on the other end of the bed. There seems to have been a lot of earth moving under one bed. 

Has anyone had luck with castor oil?  A garden volunteer said it works for moles but she wasn't sure if it would work for gophers. I am a little nervous about using it at school though if it's in a form that can't leave the hole it might be ok.

Also - have you had confirmed gopher activity eating vegetables from above ground?  I thought they only destroyed from the root end but I read that they can eat the tops too, but probably prefer something close to the ground.  Our beds are about 2' high.  (We have peacocks in the area that have definitely been in the bigger garden but haven't historically been in the kindergarden.  But we think its them eating the plants there so put up netting as a test.)

Thanks for any tips and ideas!

We have two different gopher situations at school. 

1. Definitely gopher(s) that got in past the gopher wire (beds built by pros a little over a year ago) and have been moving around in a few of the beds.  I haven't seen them destroy any vegetables yet but they were in beds that didn't have much growing in them this summer.
2. Possibly/probably gophers in an older garden area in the kindergarten yard - but I see distinct holes under the wood beds.  Do gophers sometimes leave the holes uncovered? 
   There is an approx 2-3"wide hole on one end and a big pile of dirt on the other end of the bed. There seems to have been a lot of earth moving under one bed. 

Has anyone had luck with castor oil?  A garden volunteer said it works for moles but she wasn't sure if it would work for gophers. I am a little nervous about using it at school though if it's in a form that can't leave the hole it might be ok.

Also - have you had confirmed gopher activity eating vegetables from above ground?  I thought they only destroyed from the root end but I read that they can eat the tops too, but probably prefer something close to the ground.  Our beds are about 2' high.  (We have peacocks in the area that have definitely been in the bigger garden but haven't historically been in the kindergarden.  But we think its them eating the plants there so put up netting as a test.)

Thanks for any tips and ideas!