Should we shoot them – or what?
September 16, 2009
I’m talking about the rabbits.
They’re devastating our brassicas – the 1,000+ donated by Fentongollan Farm that Camel CSA volunteers planted in monsoon conditions in July.
They’ve hopped along the protective fleece and created several neat lines of holes by boring down vertically into the centre of nearly every plant. How do they do it? Have they got sat nav or is it simply down to their whiffly noses?
The rodents seem to like munching red and green cabbage, kale (both kinds) and purple sprouting broccoli the best. But, just like humans, they don’t seem to be quite so keen on the Brussels sprouts.
Slug attack
Those famous Cornish slugs with the orange-frilled stomachs have also been having a go. There’s been quite a bit of joking about the best way to deal with them. Slug stir-fry, anyone?
We’ve spent the last two Sundays hand-weeding what’s left of the brassica plants, in the hopes that they will recover from these predatory attacks.
Many thanks to our stalwart volunteers – expert growing team members Jane, Jeremy and Mark N, aided by 10-year-old Callum, Cath, Charlotte, Danny, Jenny (14), Keira (3), Kitty, Mark M, Mike H and Mike S in week one. And thanks last week to experts Jane and Jeremy as well as Charlotte, Dan, Kate, Kitty, Marianne, Mike S and seven-week-old baby Hollie, who slept through it all.
Provided we’re successful in our funding bids, we’ll be able to invest in some strong predator-proof fencing and netting in the near future. But in the meantime, please do tell us. Should we shoot those pesky rabbits – or what?
