Winter bits and bobs.
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oldherbaceous
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Well here we are into another season…..here’s hoping we don’t get too harsher Winter!
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
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Shallot Man
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May this 91 year old goat wish you all a happy new growing year.
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Westi
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Well it's definitely Winter proper when OH says so! 
Mind today didn't feel very wintery but I'm certainly not complaining about that!
Quiet day on the plot, but I had an interesting chat with the one guy on my row. He actually came down to chat to me & was actually beneficial. While chatting to him I showed him the holes in the tunnel....another one today! He said no way they were made by a rat as way to big & he reckoned it was the fox. He said it is still around & he has seen it on my plot quite a lot when he came down to lock up his neighbours chickens in the fox proof inner cage.
He thinks the fact Mr fox spent his summer nights in the tunnel as the doors were open he classifies it as his territory, plus it will have my dog smells inside & she's female & not spayed as she is allergic to the drugs & had a massive seizure when injected for this procedure, & still has them despite the meds. This makes sense to me after he pointed out some of the scratch marks as well which were not chews but claws. Fortunately I have found the Silent Roar lion poo does stop his entry, just wished I had remembered to do the front door, did all the other areas!
Anyone got any other deterrents in mind that might stop his forays into my plot? I went mad & threw the rest of the silent roar all around the fence lines as well, but it's expensive & no details on the box regarding how long it is viable, & really no proper evidence it stopped him, might have been out with his Mrs other times discussing names for the spring arrival of cubs.
Mind today didn't feel very wintery but I'm certainly not complaining about that!Quiet day on the plot, but I had an interesting chat with the one guy on my row. He actually came down to chat to me & was actually beneficial. While chatting to him I showed him the holes in the tunnel....another one today! He said no way they were made by a rat as way to big & he reckoned it was the fox. He said it is still around & he has seen it on my plot quite a lot when he came down to lock up his neighbours chickens in the fox proof inner cage.
He thinks the fact Mr fox spent his summer nights in the tunnel as the doors were open he classifies it as his territory, plus it will have my dog smells inside & she's female & not spayed as she is allergic to the drugs & had a massive seizure when injected for this procedure, & still has them despite the meds. This makes sense to me after he pointed out some of the scratch marks as well which were not chews but claws. Fortunately I have found the Silent Roar lion poo does stop his entry, just wished I had remembered to do the front door, did all the other areas!
Anyone got any other deterrents in mind that might stop his forays into my plot? I went mad & threw the rest of the silent roar all around the fence lines as well, but it's expensive & no details on the box regarding how long it is viable, & really no proper evidence it stopped him, might have been out with his Mrs other times discussing names for the spring arrival of cubs.
Westi
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Cider Boys
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Spent some time to-day taking down my runner bean sticks and tidying up a little. I expect most of you better organised gardeners have already taken their runner bean sticks down. It always seems to me an end to one year when I take my sticks down and the start of another when I can see my broad beans poking their heads up and my broad beans have been showing for a week now. I have plenty of leeks, carrots and parsnips and a few calabrese to help keep me going. I expect any frosts will soon see off the Calabrese. I made some cyder a couple of weeks ago and it appears to be fermenting well, I had hoped to make some more this week but it is just too hard work and if I don't at least the sheep and birds will enjoy the apples.
Best wishes
Barney
Best wishes
Barney
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retropants
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We had almost all of the last ripe tomatoes last week, roasted, then made in to passata for pasta. Was lovely. I still have a handful left ripening in a bowl, lost a couple to blight, but the rest seem to be OK. DH will be having fresh homegrown tomatoes in his sarnies into December!
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oldherbaceous
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Well the morning started off nice and bright but, this afternoon turned out rather dull.
Cleared the last of the leaves at one garden, then stacked a truck load of logs for them….they said it looked like a work of art!
Cleared the last of the leaves at one garden, then stacked a truck load of logs for them….they said it looked like a work of art!
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
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oldherbaceous
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The weather is crazy…..working in shirt sleeves this morning….noticed the snowdrops are well up, at the Big house today!
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
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Westi
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Storm Darragh on it's way now just for fun! These storms seem to be really close together lately, fortunately not hitting us until tomorrow afternoon & the weekend so I will risk a visit to the plot tomorrow morning to do some tidying & potting on in the tunnel & checking & mending holes from the fox - or hopefully not! Damn thing just won't give up & tried to get in by climbing on my kneeler tucked behind the butt. Fortunately I had some metal mesh tucked in behind the butt as well so a little higher than he could reach but he managed to leave a small tear.
I actually don't 100% blame him, just the cost implications as the whole cover is now compromised which is peeving me. We apparently also have no rats on the plot picked up on CCTV for weeks which has surprised everyone, but as this is his patch & he is blocked in like us with the railway work I expect he has used up the natural food supply. Nowhere for him to go with the neighbouring foxes guarding their patch & the tunnel under the rail closed off while the work goes on & security around there at night.
Probably complicating matters & he's just doing his thing but I can't hurt him, but wondering if I set up a feed zone in the hedge row behind the plot this might distract him from my tunnel. I'm not down everyday but he wouldn't feed everyday anyway, can't attract rats as there seems none left but is the association with my plot going to make him want to take any food into the tunnel? Any advice very, very gratefully received, he is deffo not deterred by any smelly things, boy pee ignored, sonic thingies, not scared of lions poo etc. I'm at the end of my tether with the time wasted & damage, & thinking someone on the forum who is rural must have had problems & some oldie solutions. I am going to try leaving the radio on in the tunnel.. all I can think of currently.
I actually don't 100% blame him, just the cost implications as the whole cover is now compromised which is peeving me. We apparently also have no rats on the plot picked up on CCTV for weeks which has surprised everyone, but as this is his patch & he is blocked in like us with the railway work I expect he has used up the natural food supply. Nowhere for him to go with the neighbouring foxes guarding their patch & the tunnel under the rail closed off while the work goes on & security around there at night.
Probably complicating matters & he's just doing his thing but I can't hurt him, but wondering if I set up a feed zone in the hedge row behind the plot this might distract him from my tunnel. I'm not down everyday but he wouldn't feed everyday anyway, can't attract rats as there seems none left but is the association with my plot going to make him want to take any food into the tunnel? Any advice very, very gratefully received, he is deffo not deterred by any smelly things, boy pee ignored, sonic thingies, not scared of lions poo etc. I'm at the end of my tether with the time wasted & damage, & thinking someone on the forum who is rural must have had problems & some oldie solutions. I am going to try leaving the radio on in the tunnel.. all I can think of currently.
Westi
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oldherbaceous
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I’m afraid that troublesome foxes were just shot years ago, Westi, so haven’t really got any answers…. I think I would be buying a roll of chicken wire, and putting it right around the tunnel and if there was any left over, laying it on any beds….
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
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Westi
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Thanks OH, I have thought of chicken wire, but have found the laminate sheets do stop him, I just have to get the rest down there, especially as I nicked some from the compost bin & as it's filling up big time as so many weeds. No damage from him found today but I have taken everything I tuck/hide behind the tunnel so no assistance given to him to get higher than the sheets now. And no damage today!
Another bonus was a chat to a new guy walking his dog along my path & he recommend a sonic repeller so I had a look at it. He said the fox was a pest on his plot when he took it over & the shed was trashed regularly & fox was leaving evidence in there beyond trash. The fox was getting in holes in it & was making new entries every time he tried to secure it, but he couldn't afford a new shed so his partner bought him a repeller like his father has to protect his chickens & it worked - obvs just moved him to my plot! Anyway I bit the bullet & bought one & got a discounted price as signed up to their newsletter. No problem with the newsletter as I will just click that site as junk! It is similar to my old one but focus is on bigger animals than rats. Will see...but he is going to set it up for me so better chance of effectiveness!
Good luck everyone with Storm Darragh, looks like west coast is going to get the biggest battering so you guys & girls stay hunkered down!
Another bonus was a chat to a new guy walking his dog along my path & he recommend a sonic repeller so I had a look at it. He said the fox was a pest on his plot when he took it over & the shed was trashed regularly & fox was leaving evidence in there beyond trash. The fox was getting in holes in it & was making new entries every time he tried to secure it, but he couldn't afford a new shed so his partner bought him a repeller like his father has to protect his chickens & it worked - obvs just moved him to my plot!
Anyway I bit the bullet & bought one & got a discounted price as signed up to their newsletter. No problem with the newsletter as I will just click that site as junk! It is similar to my old one but focus is on bigger animals than rats. Will see...but he is going to set it up for me so better chance of effectiveness! Good luck everyone with Storm Darragh, looks like west coast is going to get the biggest battering so you guys & girls stay hunkered down!
Westi
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Cider Boys
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Westie, I do hope that your deterrent has the desired affect on the annoying fox. I do appreciate how irksome wild animals can be when they go where we do not want them to. My only suggestion other than trapping/shooting is to place an electric netting fence around the area. That will work, although foxes happily pass underneath my strands of electric fence wire I run around my folded sheep, they will not get through electric netting. I stopped using electric netting myself however, after I noticed it was killing hedgehogs that tried to pass through. Is there a Shepherd you know who could lend you and help install an energiser/battery and some sheep netting for some weeks? Once a fox (or anything else) has received a few 10,000V bangs they will keep away.
Barney
Barney
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Westi
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Thanks Barney, that could be an option to deter him & I know there was one in the committee borrow shed at one point so I will catch someone to see if still there & available. I conveniently already have some of those plastic posts for setting up the wires. Best remember to turn it off when I have the mutt down with me!
Westi
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Westi
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I was tentative going down to check the plot today as seen some posts of sheds on their sides down there, but my shed was still standing. That is thanks to Mr when we got it 20 odd years ago. It was a deliver & erect one which they did, but Mr was not happy so drilled long bolts through the floor into the pavement slabs we were given that weighed a ton. When the floor started to show it's age he replaced it with marine ply!
All the black plastic sheets over the prepped beds had blown away, tearing some but a couple more bricks re-secured them. Mr Fox stayed away from the tunnel, but he enjoyed his time ripping the bags I was collecting for the neighbour to take to the tip for me. Bit's of chewed stuff mainly paper all over the plot so all that collected & re-badged.
Even then I still had time to prep what will be my Kelsae onion bed, as trying these next year as got a bargain black Friday deal for some plants to be delivered. The bed got fed with their recommended onion & garlic fed, then some accelerator granules that are supposed to open the soil & for luck a few bags of last years leaves. Just need to cover that bed & then will give what will be next years brassica bed & squash & pumpkin bed similar attention, different feed though. It's good getting these big beds done & covered as then actually only the other onion beds from my seed grown to be weeded & fed & some Pak Choi to get planted out. Obvs more chores but no more digging, just stand up jobs like the fruit trees & closing & opening the composts etc.
All the black plastic sheets over the prepped beds had blown away, tearing some but a couple more bricks re-secured them. Mr Fox stayed away from the tunnel, but he enjoyed his time ripping the bags I was collecting for the neighbour to take to the tip for me. Bit's of chewed stuff mainly paper all over the plot so all that collected & re-badged.
Even then I still had time to prep what will be my Kelsae onion bed, as trying these next year as got a bargain black Friday deal for some plants to be delivered. The bed got fed with their recommended onion & garlic fed, then some accelerator granules that are supposed to open the soil & for luck a few bags of last years leaves. Just need to cover that bed & then will give what will be next years brassica bed & squash & pumpkin bed similar attention, different feed though. It's good getting these big beds done & covered as then actually only the other onion beds from my seed grown to be weeded & fed & some Pak Choi to get planted out. Obvs more chores but no more digging, just stand up jobs like the fruit trees & closing & opening the composts etc.
Westi
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oldherbaceous
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Working at two separate gardens today, and couldn’t believe the amount of weeds still growing!
Got a big job on tomorrow and Friday, some huge multi stemmed conifers came down in the winds over the weekend, so have to get them cut up and cleared….they were over 30 feet tall and the trunks are over 15 inches in diameter.
The allotments are still too wet to get on, so hopefully will get a dry spell after Christmas….
Got a big job on tomorrow and Friday, some huge multi stemmed conifers came down in the winds over the weekend, so have to get them cut up and cleared….they were over 30 feet tall and the trunks are over 15 inches in diameter.
The allotments are still too wet to get on, so hopefully will get a dry spell after Christmas….
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.