[chairmanphil]

going to put a fence round the plot this winter when all the soil improvements have taken place. but for now what about these rabbit proof peas?





got sieved soil and well rotted horse muck in there, and half buried in the ground with good holes for the roots to get out and explore. what do you think? going to see how they faired in a minute, fingers crossed!

[Smalltime]

No chance pal. Rabbits can chew through plastic like a knife through butter. Their teeth are nearly an inch long you know and very sharp. My sore thumb has been testament to that. It may act as a deterrent long enough so they scarper. 

 

[chairmanphil]

it is thick wire under the plastic, they have failed to chew through this stuff in other places on the site. very tough stuff and sold as rabbit proof [if there is such a thing] 

[Smalltime]

Cool, should do the job then 

[chairmanphil]

Cool, should do the job then 

feel better now, man those pesky rabbits are making me paranoid!

[Fleecewife]

Looking in my diary for last year I saw that a rabbit had got inside my polytunnel, and now my PSB and Brussels sprouts are in a fairly sorry state so I think the wretches are sneaking into the veg patch at night when my dogs are not around.  We used to have 4 giant dogs and when they caught a rabbit they would take a corner each and pull - not nice, but the rabbits stayed away.  Now they mostly laugh at my terriers who do a good job of tracking where the rabbits came from, but not where they have gone    They love a snack of baby rabbits though so dig out any burrows they find.
One day when all the other projects are done we might get round to rabbit proofing the veg garden properly.  Meantime we tend to use black woven mesh over blue waterpipe hoops to cover the most vulnerable crops (keeps the pesky hens off too).  As you can see, our rabbit problem is very minor but I don't envy you your high numbers.  I suppose there's a limit to how many rabbit pies you can eat 

I absolutely love the pea fortresses - let us know if any bunnies get past them.

[chairmanphil]

just got in from checking them and they have survived rabbits and a ground frost and for a first night out that's not too bad! the rabbits are much more timid about open ground since the Goshawks turned up. they are like spitfire pilots the way they come out of the sun! and there are a family of wild ferrets that live down the bottom from when the ferret  man dug out the first main warren in 2005, they have helped to keep the population down too. going to fence it properly next year a job for sometime over the winter. 

[Greenerlife]

Good job!

I looked out in my neighbouring field yesterday evening and I thought I was having some kind of weird eye seizure as the ground seemed to be a moving carpet of the little beggars...I hate rabbits!

[chairmanphil]

Good job!

I looked out in my neighbouring field yesterday evening and I thought I was having some kind of weird eye seizure as the ground seemed to be a moving carpet of the little beggars...I hate rabbits!

my advice is get a local Goshawk pair! they have done alot of damage to the population! but they are alway there just waiting for a free meal!

[Mel]

Hi Chairman,
Where did you get those frames from,they are excellent!

[chairmanphil]

Hi Chairman,
Where did you get those frames from,they are excellent!

they are a legacy of the site, as we fought our way in and cut down leylandai after leylandai we kept finding garden features as we went. i stashed them up and most are coming in very handy if a little the worst for wear. we are trying to show the kids there is more to life than a consumer driven take take take new new new philosophy which i feel is so flawed! i have done some more today with the more conventional bamboo canes. we are trying to reuse as much as possible from the earlier garden before the trees took over!

[Plantoid]

Young birds such as sparrows can also decimate lush sweet green veg so can pigeons & young  squirrels etc  .
I  have a large  9 mtr by 9 mtr net system draped over my beds on a bamboo framework .

[chairmanphil]

Young birds such as sparrows can also decimate lush sweet green veg so can pigeons & young  squirrels etc  .
I  have a large  9 mtr by 9 mtr net system draped over my beds on a bamboo framework .

any pics?

[chairmanphil]

so far so good. no trace of rabbits in the defences lets hope that is a good omen!

[Plantoid]

 I didn't realize I hadn't got a piccy of the proper  nets in place.

 The picture shows the bamboo frame with rubber knuckles to shove in the canes .  The fine black net you can see is 8 mm mesh squares in a fairly rigid net of five year UV protected pond cover that is used to keep leaves off / out the pond . It is two x 2 mtr lengths zip tied on to a catenery wire made of some old BT overhead wire .

 Munchkin & I dismantled the whole thing on Thursday in readiness for a stronger frame .
 the nets came from the bay as  " vegetable  protection nets 10 x 10 mtr  " , 2 for around £ 7 ( ish ) each .

Because the beds are only a metre wide the nets will be doubled over .. It also makes a good cabbage white block when doubled over  , providing you keep the greenery off the net .

 More pictures tomorrow if it doesn't rain like mad , showing the new frame partly constructed .
Perhaps by Wed everything will be in place & the job finished. ( I'm waiting for some more bits & bobs due in on Monday evening to complete things ) .