Protecting plants advice sought

[bharvey]

Hi,

We went to water the vegetables growing on our allotment this morning after a few days away only to find that most of them had been eaten.

Most noticeably were the leeks, which were growing quite quickly when we planted them a few days ago. They've all been chopped off and look a lot smaller than before.

Fortunately the leeks aren't dead, they're just a bit shorter than they were before, so we should be able to still grow them. However, we're not sure how to protect them from whatever is eating them.

We have been looking at what other people have been doing to protect theirs, which appears to be everything from nothing to putting up a fence completely around their plot.

I think it could be voles that are living in a dirt wall left behind by the previous tenant.

Has anyone got any reasonably cheap solutions that have worked for them? There's no such thing as a bad idea!

[Nicos]

Oh dear- it's flippin frustrating isn't it??

I've found that our voles tend to eat from below....and almost impossible to stop them.

Sounds more like bunnies with your leeks to be honest.
Why not have a natter with some of your lottie neighbours- they will be able to tell you what the main pests are.
Then you'll have a better idea of what sort of protection you need
Also have a look around to see if you can find any bunny droppings.

[bharvey]

Hi Nicos,

Thanks for the swift reply - I didn't know that voles eat from underground so this is useful to learn.

A few other people at the allotment have told us they think Rabbits are eating are eating their crops - there is a couple in one corner who have completely fenced off their plot because they assumed it was rabbits.

We actually have 2 house rabbits and have been using their used hay and droppings on top of the soil, as we read that this would provide nutrients to the soil. Now you've mentioned it, it seems apparent that the plants eaten the least had the rabbit hay and droppings on, so I think you are probably right about rabbits.

I'm tempted to construct a "scare fox" out of papier-mache. It probably wouldn't scare the rabbits and would look ridiculous, but could be fun!

[Nicos]

remember to post a piccie will you???

[Nicos]

2 examples of my vole damage...

Tulip flowers suddenly wilting- oops- must need watering so off I trundled to get the watering can. On closer inspection, they didn't need watering at all...the whole of the bulb had been eaten and the plant stem was just resting in the hole where the bulb had been.


Lovingly cared for potted clematis planted out in the border. Next day it was wilting...urmm..aren't those stems supposed to be attached to something under the soil???? Not a root in site!

Sneaky eh??

I've taken to planting daffodil bulbs around the base of precious plants as it does seem to deter them.

[Bigmallly]

The quickest & easiest way to protect your crops has to be netting in my book.

[roitelet]

The electronic mole thingys will also keep voles away!

[Nicos]

I wonder if ferret poo would do the same ??

[roitelet]

May be, you an always try!

[Greenleaves]

100% with BM on this one, cheap, effective and reusable

[datz]

Our two cats between them catch around 3 or 4 voles a day. They are available for hire .....

[bharvey]

Might have to borrow a cat at some point!

Going to put up some chicken wire potentially, which should hopefully keep the rabbits out.

The "scare fox" idea has escalated into "scare fox cam" with a night-vision camera mounted in one eye. Probably should stop drinking the beer traps...

[bharvey]

I've opted for putting netting over the leeks that got nibbled on, with a few small bamboo canes and string to prop it all up.

Hopefully this should help!

[bharvey]

Oh, and if I ever build a scare fox I'll be sure to post pictures