It would be churlish not to offer the possums a zucchini but that fails to address the very real problem of possums here in Melbourne. Community gardeners struggle with many issues and the vegetable 'rewards' for our labour and efforts very often have to be results as it is not a money saving exercise. It costs a heap to rent a plot, fertilise, buy plants, nettings, etc as well as water, weed, and drive/walk regularly to our plot and if we need to share our produce with possums, we, frankly don't feel amused.
This summer I attempted also to grow beans and tomatoes in my plot but the outcome of that was wasted money on the plants and seeds. Zero result. Few people have had much by way of tomatoes in Melbourne and tomatoes are very appealing to possums. They don't eat the leaves, but they attack the fruits. They ate my bean plants when young.
The only reason I got a good crop of zucchinis was that I stocked my little plot with about 8 plants. I give zucchinis to visitors, friends, and neighbours. The rest are eaten fresh in salads, made into soups, and steamed with the evening meal. They are treasured and not wasted. The plot is about 10 minutes walk away, so I try to walk each time rather than waste petrol.
But, hey, possums are not the friends of many here. Frankly I hope more and more people in the country feed them well in order to entice them back. We don't like them.
If we are to encourage the efforts of community gardeners, then we need a solution which is far more effective than offering our meagre fruits and vegetables to a plague of food devouring possums.
