Hey man,
I appreciate the effort you are putting forth in order to share what you are doing on that exposed hillside where there is no water in the close proximity but.......
#1 use fine ashes from your fire place instead of food products, ,the small crawly critters will go nowhere near it because it instantly clogs all their necassary functions.The smell of the ashes will keep other critters away instinctively .plus you could burn the roots on them when so young with chili powder and such.
#2 the small cage is a lot of work that you will be changing immediately.start them at home and bring out when they are 6"-12" tall.
They are not so fragile that way. Plus you can plant them in a larger more permanent situation . WHY DO ANYTHING TWICE or at all if it is not needed.The more times you change the area by working it the more chance of getting seen by the GHETTO BIRD(helicopters,or any other aircraft in the area) . there are way tooooo many A-HOLE real estate people and others flyig around with nothing better to do than turn you in.
AND dont use anything orange , what you thinking.
I will read more and post my thoughts about what you are doing.
GOOD LUCK and remember "IT does to GROW on TREES"