protecting crops..

[n/east lee]

hi people,

i havent had my plots for long this is my first full growin season.. alot of people onsite have told me that rabbits are serious and anything not protected will get ate and there is a woods about 500 yrds away from site so it seems to get loads of birds..

alot of people have used blue piping and garden netting.. is this best option or anyone know of a better one

[Kristen]

Chicken Wire (actually you need Rabbit Wire - its the same stuff, but baby rabbits can squeeze through smaller holes, so Rabbit wire is a narrower mesh than regular Chicken Wire)

Turn the bottom foot of the netting outwards (you don't need to bury it vertically) and just let the grass growth through it - weight it down with bricks etc. until then - or scrape some turf off and put the wire down and replace the turf on top.

Not cheap ... but no point having a crop that has taken you months to grow destroyed by vermin ...

[Scarlet]

Not cheap ... but no point having a crop that has taken you months to grow destroyed by vermin ...

I totally agree with that! Nothing more heartbreaking than having your crop eaten! I try to cover/net or fence off everything. One year though I had dear couldn't do much about them...

[Kristen]

last time I had a Deer in my garden I put it in the freezer!

[Shadylane]

A rabbit proof fence might not be necessary. We have always had rabbits, but I find blue piping and debris netting keeps them out. If they really wanted to, I'm sure they could burrow underneath, but they never have - too much trouble I suspect, especially if there are unprotected cabbages on other plots. Or they just nibble my onions. Or leeks. Or little gem.

[Euan]

We don't have any rabbit issues but last year (our first year) the birds and pigeons ate what they could! This year we've got some cages from Harrod Horticultural to protect the crops that we know the birds will like.