Teenager nicking my plant pots!!!

[poppy_lillysmum]

Got to get this of my chest...
Just came home from my mum's house to find that during the night some of the local kids have been out, and nicked one of my terrocota pots which is full of bulbs and flowers... and my favorite dahlia
The kids and I searched the area, but can't find it.
The police are useless!!!
Just wondering what's going to happen to the other ones out their. 3 of them they can't take (and i can't move) cause they are great big half beer barrels, but the other 3 are managerable. I think i'll be bringing them indoors tonight.
And to top it of my younger sister who lives on land cookoo, says i'm wasting my time and money growing my own veg and I should just buy it in the supermarket it's cheaper. I don't think it is. I do enjoy doing my gardening, so i don't really care what she thinks. She's not having any when it's ready now!!
Thank you for listening to me.
Poppy_lillysmum

[zazen999]

Sprinkle the top of the soil with hot chilli powder.

[poppy_lillysmum]

That's a fantastic idea.

[zazen999]

Make sure it is hot and you remember when you come to pot it on!

[tamsin]

You could chain them down, but I'm not sure how easy it would be to do after they are filled. Before run a chain through the hole in the pot (something bigger than the hole in the pot to keep it in place then the other end of the chain padlocked to a loop secured to paving/wall.

Maybe one of those cat scarers that squirt water when they sense movement

[janeyo]

I'd put a sign on them saying there are hidden cameras about and to think twice as any more thefts will be prosecuted.

[jackie j]

My MIL lived on a main road and I cant remember if it was hers or someone else's but a very large heavy pot was pinched and left up the road cos whoever took it couldnt carry it any further.
I hope whoever took yours now has a bad back !!!!

[Creemteez]

My stock solution to anything that can potentially be nicked is to wire it to the mains electricity! They may try once, but they won't do it again. Mmwaah-ha-ha-ha!!

[poppy_lillysmum]

My MIL lived on a main road and I cant remember if it was hers or someone else's but a very large heavy pot was pinched and left up the road cos whoever took it couldnt carry it any further.
I hope whoever took yours now has a bad back !!!!

Thanks for all you replies. I live on a really quite cul-de-sac, and the problem is we has less than a stones through from the park, so the kids sit in the park for hours on end get bored and then they think they have a great idea.

I think i'll go for the Chilli option and the sign, as my daughter has a fetish to touch every thing and will be in the pot as soon as she's something different

[selfraising]

Hi there, what a pain! As far as you sister's comments are concerned, the fact that they are cheaper is debateable but they certainly will taste 100% better if you grow them yourself and won't be covered in pesticides! By the way, my brother in-law lives on hayling. I used to go down there every Sunday when I was little when the beach was still sandy!

[poppy_lillysmum]

Hi selfraising, My Sister has gone mad. Thinks i'm silly having hens as well, but she didn't mind scaling a six and half foot wall to get some eggs when I was out one day!! But the eggs, veg and fruit do definately taste better, and it gives me something to fill my days. BTW some parts of Hayling are still a bit Sandy. (only when the tides out!!)

[maytreefrannie]

Sorry to hear about your pot being nicked, Poppy - I think the chilli idea sounds good, but here's hoping those kids will just keep away from your house in future.

About your sister - how about giving her a present of a couple of tomato plants or a few lettuces in a container? No doubt she'd enjoy the 'harvest' and might become interested in growing some herself in future - might eat her words, actually.

[Alice]

Sorry about your pot Poppy.
Forget what yout sister says. Just do what makes you happy and let her do her thing.

[SlugLobber]

Oh that's such a horrible thing to happen. Maybe vandalism grease on the rims of the pots to make them difficult to lift?

My sister can't understand why I grow my own, either. I'm not the one who's fat, has asthma induced from sitting in a damp house all day, bad skin (she's indoors watching telly/on facebook or in a chip shop working) and unable to run for a bus. I don't care about the cost. It keeps me sane and the compliments are worth it. A freecycler described my garden as 'amazing' and said it made her realise she was just an amateur! How cool is that?

[Alison]

Sorry to hear about this but any particular reason you're jumping to the conclusion that it was teenagers who nicked your pot? Bit unfair blaming them unless you actually saw them do it.