The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: Bluff on May 13, 2016, 01:22:49 pm

Title: seedlings uprooted but not eaten
Post by: Bluff on May 13, 2016, 01:22:49 pm

Hi everyone

we planted out a number of seedlings in the poly tunnel at the weekend.
Last night I noticed that a number of carrot and cabbage seedlings had been dug up and moved but not eaten
Same with 1 of 10 pea plants and 2 of about 20 lettuces.
They had all been lifted clean out of the soil and left on top - none of the plants had been eaten at all.
I know that we had a rat in the tunnel over the winter but thought he had gone

Any idea what might be the culprit? I would have thought that a rat would go for all the peas not just one (if that is what it was)
Also my 1 strawberry fruit was not touched
its a mystery to me!

thanks  :thinking:

Title: Re: seedlings uprooted but not eaten
Post by: devonlady on May 13, 2016, 05:57:44 pm

I would suspect a mole. Take your seedlings by the leaves, not the stem, and push them back in.

Title: Re: seedlings uprooted but not eaten
Post by: sabrina on June 02, 2016, 08:07:18 pm

My first thought was mole as well.

Title: Re: seedlings uprooted but not eaten
Post by: Dans on June 09, 2016, 12:57:08 am

We've had this, it's our sweetcorn seedlings it's happening to. Although there was at least 1 mole on the land I doubt it is him as the ground is like concrete in our polytunnel and these are raised beds on top of it, undug. Some of the roots were still in the soil. Any ideas?

Dans