Always nice to see another outdoor grower on here... far less than there are indoor grows, for obvious reasons this time of year..
I too plan to start veggin some plants in Early February (indoors) to move outside in April... Haven't chosen strains yet, but will probably grow 6-8 (feminized) babies out and hopefully have them about 2 ft tall, maybe taller by the time I move them outdoors... I have a lot of spots, so I would probably just plant one in each location to minimize my loss for various possible reasons...
I definetely recommend urinating around your crop... The Irish Springs soap idea is interesting, I will have to try that in the future... I try to choose a location that is obviously secluded, but also not around another other real "tasty" vegetation that animals would be around eating... I've had good success dozens of times planting next to a large pine tree... Conceals your ladies in flower, as it doesn't turn as fall and winter approach.... I've used so many different techniques to try and keep animals away... Might just have to use the Irish Springs soap idea... Really sounds like that would keep most critters away the more i think about it....
I try to turn the soil in the location a couple times before planting if possible (not always advisable, given you may be somewhere someone can see you and you're probably somewhere you really shouldn't be)... If not, I just dig out a spot... I normally mix in a decent ammount of perilite as well as the other goodies (guano, manure, fish emulsion, blood meal, etc... depending on availability).. I give it a good watering and then leave...
I normally visit the spot 3-4 times a month, feeding a high Nitrogen fertilizer until flowering starts, then switching to a 10-25-25 (or so) for flowering... I got a nice 3 gallon jug w/ a handle I normally use.. Usually only fill it up about half way... closer to full once I get later into flowering...
Last year was rough for me, but 2 years ago I had 4 crops (2 plants each) that all made it through but 1... Ended up w/ about 11.5 ounces dried after pitching an ounce or two of bud that got infested w/ mold and worms from one location.... I visited all 4 locations 4 times prior to planting, and in total visited 20 times after planting.. Harvested on October 17th...
Anyways... Good Luck to ya' man... I'm Sub'd.... i'll keep ya' updated on mine when that time comes around....