Soils gradually get infested and weeds take root as seedlings start. Clean soil is expensive enough to negate value in having your own garden. Chickens attract

Soils gradually get infested and weeds take root as seedlings start. Clean soil is expensive enough to negate value in having your own garden. Chickens attract more rats. If snowpeas do get past the slugs, they soon get black spots. Zucchinis get powdery mildew. The stone fruit trees and apples get assaulted by lorikeets or cockatoos. It's relentless. I have a typical suburban block (bit under a quarter of an acre) with seven 1x2m raised garden beds and six espaliered fruit trees, plus a couple free standing. I really should've established better netting infrastructure from the start plus I should never bother starting seeds/seedlings without some effort in pests/weeding/mulch - unfortunately they're worst in winter when I'm busy working inside and least inclined to go out and deal with them.