"Is it ok for me to cover the top of the potting soil with wood chips (Black) like I have done with my flower bed in which these plants will hide? Or will that meess with the balance of the PH in the peat too much? "

Peat is low PH so the PH of the wood chips should not be a problem.
However, as the wood breaks down it uses nitrogen and can cause yellowing leaf and slow growth.
Just fashion a soil cover out of galvanized "hardware cloth" to stump the squirrels.

Stinky has not been online since April 2010.
Kind of worried about her.

This site has changed, look around.

Aloha, and welcome back.
Weezard
Weezard Reviewed by Weezard on . Outdoor stealth garden grow question... Hi All... Its been a long time since I have been around these places? Well lets see marriage and 2 kids later I' still token just not growin'. At least not like I used to in a cabinet box in coco in a downtown apartment. Now I have a house, although small its nice but there is really no place to grow indoors with my current family. So I thought I might try and do a late start outdoors in our existing garden. Started late because I didn't want giant plants well I did actually but knew it Rating: 5