Topic: What is eating my radish?

[Gordonmull]

Last question tonight, I promise!

I'll need to get a photo if this persists but something's absolutely hammering my radishes. The leaves are being eaten a-la slugs but the leaves are also being left on the the soil cut off at the base of the leaf. Not the stem, the leaf, individual leaves. This is probably more of a reassurance question, but i found a whole plant pulled out of the ground the yesterday, now unless I've got super-slugs (horrible thought) I'm assuming birds? I've never seen them at the plants though (outside kitchen window), and why would they peck the leaves off and abandon them? My approach has been to net the row and see how it goes but if this sounds familiar to anyone and I'm barking up the wrong tree please let me know.

Cheers

Gordon

[goodlife]

It sounds very much like birds having 'fun'.. ::)..though its not unusual that mice would have been visiting your bed. They tend to nibble anything and everything just to 'taste' and see if its something they will bother with.

Ah..you are discovering all the 'fun' that growing your own brings along.. ;D You'll be wildlife and insect expert soon..it comes with gardening territory.. ;) Move over Mr Attenborough!  ;D

[galina]

Pigeons, blackbirds .....you name it!  I agree with Goodlife, it sounds like birds.

I was horrified that at least a dozen of my early daffodils were 'beheaded' this year, pinched off just underneath the newly opened flowers and left on the ground.  You are not the only one targetted.  I guess it was in retaliation for the shallots and garlics being planted a bit deeper than normal, to prevent pulling up - they only managed to pull up one shallot.  Guess some or other bird wanted to have their 'fun'  :) and moved to the daffs next to the garlic bed.

Fleece them if you are bothered or cloche them, but expect damage elsewhere .....  :(

[green lily]

If its any consolation I've had to net the asparagus coz the blackbirds thought it was theirs and pecked the tips out of the shoots..... ::)

[Gordonmull]

Thanks, that confirms my suspicions. It's definitely not mice - the moggies make sure of that! Too stupid to catch birds though.

It seems to be mostly starlings that frequent my garden...in saying that there's twp pigeons on the lamp-post outside the living room window as I type...

That's right up my street Goodlife, I love wildlife, from bug to blue whale. Might not be saying that come October though!

[artichoke]

For the first time ever I have had to net and fleece my asparagus (11 years) against (I assume) rabbits. They dig little short tunnels and expose the roots. Same with broad beans, and strawberries, and any empty space in the plot. Raspberries too, but they are tough enough to survive.

I am certainly used to birds pecking at daffodils and primroses....sigh.

[Gordonmull]

The plot thickens. The netting was firmly pegged and weighted down at the edges. No bird could have got through that, and yet this morning two more leaves lopped off at the base.

I found more yesterday but put that down to not being thourough enough at removing the debris, so I made 100% sure it was all gone. Today the same thing. The only creatures i've seen nearby were 1 aphid and a few black ants. Aphid got squashed and ants were observed for any nefarious nibbling until my legs were sore from squatting down.

I'll check again tomorrow and also bury the edges of the net in the soil, then I'm ruling out four legged "friends" also.

It's not that I'm frantic with worry here - I just want to know what's going on!

[Gordonmull]

OK, I think I have put together a little picture here.

The other day I noticed a leek seedling on the highest shelf of my 2-tier cold frame had been chewed to a stump. I cursed the slugs, put a pellet in each module cell scatterd some more about for good measure and though well, that's that. Surprised one had climbed up the wooden frame though.

Next day, two more leeks cut down to stumps. So I thinks to myself "Bet the little B(*&(*& is hiding under the module. Not a slug but a big fat brown caterpillar. It promptly got smashed.

Now, tonight I was trying to figure out what was up with my onions when I came across a description of cutworm. Looked it up and guess what the leek culprit was?

Here is where I'm going with this - They also fit the bill for the radish, cutting down, taking a nibble and moving on. I've seen them elsewhere in the garden too, last year and this. So, to the most important thing - how to kill effectively? I've seen lots of hassle heavy ways of doing this, hand picking, collars etc. One thing that worries me is grubbing around for the cutworm near plants that get a bit unhappy with root disturbance.

However, I have no qualms about poisoning them to oblivion. They seem to love radish, so a nice soil soaking in pyrethrum round the radish, maybe