arent badgers great ! Not !

[Billy's lad]

Out with my dogs this am and noticed some badger poo on the path , a while further on I get to my potato patch that has been pulled over exposing potatoes

What do I do now ?

Do i dig up the affected plants that have been snapped off or leave potatoes in the ground

They are maincrop Kestrel and the ones that have been exposed are a decent size

[Nicos]

I'd be tempted to crop them now if they are a decent size.
The badger may come back again tonight ...

[Billy's lad]

he will be in for a bit of a welcome tonight if he comes back

[1Bee]

Don't forget badgers are a protected species, Billy.

[Jay-ell]

Just a reminder that, despite the culls, badgers are still a protected species.

Also injuring or casing harm or distress to a wild animal is also an offence.

[Billy's lad]

dont panic nothing drastic just some electric fence going up around the perimeter , i didnt think badgers would bother about a few spuds

[Billy's lad]

so i have been out and dug them up lots of mouse damage so i think that Billy must have been after them and probably dug around looking for the mouse

live and learn lol I grew three types this year in my maiden growing season te two early rocket and pentland javelin were grown in pots half buried in the ground which were very sucessful

The kestrel were direct in the ground and have had the mouse damage so more pots for next season I think

[Jay-ell]

They're omnivorous so they could be after the spuds, but also could be after worms underneath the spuds.

[Nicos]

I had visions of you hiding behind something waiting for dark...and for him to arrive .....then jumping out with a football rattle and one of those horn things spectators use when watching skiing!

[Billy's lad]

I have dug them all up now , the ones with any damage I have cut out affected area and parboiled and I am now freezing them so I can roast later on
I had a quick sample and nice flavour

Billy can go for his life tonight as no spuds there apart from a few in pots

[DannyK]

Hate badgers. They dig up bees nests, disembowel fox cubs, damage railway embankments. Lots of other damage in garden.

I wonder if they're responsible for lack of slow worms for few years. They need a predator. Maybe one that can deal with neighbours' kids and dog!!!!!!

[veggiechicken]

so i have been out and dug them up lots of mouse damage so i think that Billy must have been after them and probably dug around looking for the mouse

I thought you were Billy's lad?

[Derbydal]

badgers eat half a row of my seed spuds early on this year ! so they know what they are looking for, they also eat blue bells and other bulbs, never known them take onions though mind they are wellcome to my crop this year iv'e got white rot ! acording to mothy done it will be 15yrs before i'll be able to grow them on that spot again LOL i'll be 85 so i'll be able to make onion soup ! atb Dal.

[Mark_Riga]

I've never had mice damage on spuds but a couple of times rats have gnawed at them. and I planted a lot of crocus bulbs in an orchard a couple of years ago only for a badger to come along and dig 90% of them up at least and likely all the rest will go over time.
I get white rot on onions in one patch of my garden and I grow autumn planted onions there. 6 inches apart the sets and harvest them when the dreaded white rot starts. digging out a small spadeful around any that are affected to sterilize (or discard in the hedgerow across the road where it will do no harm in the next 40years). This year though the harvest was pitiful as they were quite shaded as well as dry - but no white rot either.

[Jay-ell]

the dreaded white rot starts. digging out a small spadeful around any that are affected to sterilize (or discard in the hedgerow across the road where it will do no harm in the next 40years).

except possibly infecting wild native British Alliums such as Ramsons which provide a much needed early nectar source to pollinators