Allotments 4 All
Produce => Pests & Diseases => Topic started by: Digeroo on November 15, 2012, 09:16:48
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I have now lost more than 8 winter cabbages. I have only had one from the beds they are going from. It is not just the odd one, it is becoming systematic theft.
There does not seem much point in all the work and costs if someone else is eating it all. If someone thinks they are free, they are not free to me.
I had hoped they would last the whole winter, so come February/March I will have to pay to replace them.
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I'm really sorry to hear that Digeroo. How frustrating for you. Have you any idea who is doing it?
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Oh no, how horrid, is there anyone to report this to? I would go round blabbing about this to anyone that will listen in the hope the message gets back to whoever it is that you are so upset. Dont let the so and sos grind you down Digs
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I would feel like putting something on them which would not taste nice.
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I have my suspicions.
I go to the lottie because my OH is rather difficult after a stroke. These thefts take away my sanctuary from stress.
My OH also suggested putting something unpleasant on them. Suggestions as to what would be welcome.
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That's awful, I am so sorry. One solution might be to announce to all and sundry that you really have added something terrible to the cabbages, rather than actually do it!
I hope you find the scumbag who did it and I hope they are banned for life from the site
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I put at a sign saying Do not pinch my veg but that did not work.
I am raking round the beds in the hope of gathering some foot prints.
What I really want is a photo of them at it, but it will not be easy?
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Many thanks for you comments. You have cheered me up. I just could not face the thought of going to lottie. But I have bought some more raspberries and they need planting.
It is the first year ever I have grown really decent winter cabbages. I was soooo proud of them. They hated it in my garden. Maybe now I have got the winning formula I can grow them at home next year.
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have the cabbage been cut or twisted off
if cut it looks like a plotter, who carrys a knife for the job, if twisted off it may be an outsider, kids perhaps
jim
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How about getting one of these infra red wildlife cameras? A bit expensive to protect a few cabbages but it would be lovely to hide something like this in your compost heap and catch the bugger red handed!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acorn-Wildlife-Trail-Infrared-Camera/dp/B00873DB5S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352983805&sr=8-1
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Spread the word that the reason they are so big is that you pee on them daily. If the story reaches the offender, they won't be back!
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Some one on our site managed to grow some nice carrots without carrot fly and they got stolen, there have been suspicions for years about who it is. I am hoping to catch them at it and take a photo, but they area clever and tend to come on when no-one around. It is so difficult, really sorry I would be lived if it happened to me. Some people are toe rags!
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We hear stories from time to time about theft of produce, and someone on our site has papered the place with "Grow your own veg. Don't take mine" posters.
Recently we lost two nice cabbages, but the more we thought about it, the less we were convinced that it was theft. For one thing, they were not the biggest, and for another, whatever had taken them had thoughtfully not moved any of the pegs holding down the netting. So I think it was an animal pest of some sort, not a human one, although they certainly looked as though they'd been cut.
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They are removed totally including the root. Which is how I know it is not rabbits etc, I always cut them higher since sometimes they will produce a small extra bit of cabbage. I then dig them under the sweet corn.
Spread the word that the reason they are so big is that you pee on them daily
Of course I put pee on them how do you think they got so big. :toothy10:
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Maybe if you have a freezer and they are ready , you could harvest , prepare and put them into your freezer ? So sorry for you .
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That's awful! I lose a lot to pests but thankfully none to human pests so far. Maybe it's a sign of how desperate some people are?
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They are removed totally including the root. Which is how I know it is not rabbits etc, I always cut them higher since sometimes they will produce a small extra bit of cabbage. I then dig them under the sweet corn.
Spread the word that the reason they are so big is that you pee on them daily
Of course I put pee on them how do you think they got so big. :toothy10:
Glad you are able to smile about it now a bit. We all sympathise it is rotten, I tend to think that what goes around come around and that bad actions have a way of catching up with people.
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Just spray some weekly with a chicken fertiliser, but make sure you know the ones you treated.
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How very disheartening. Sorry to hear about the theft and that you were in tears.
Cabbage does keep for a long time cool, especially if the roots are 'planted' in damp sand in a box in the garage. Take them home, before you lose any more.
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Tie a length of strong fishing line around the cabbage stalk and just rake a small amount of light soil to hide it. Tie a load of cans to the other end or one of those cheap personal/rape alarm gadgets. They won't come back again.
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You can now get small video cameras for outside use with batteries. They will take still photos when set off by motion sensors. You could get photo evidence.
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Galina you are a star. :wav: I will dig them all up and move them to my garden. Sorted. It will be easier to harvest them anyway, and the deer will not get them if it snows. Mind you then the b******* will probably attack my sprouts instead. Looks like I will be moving quite a few brassicas.
My suspect has a very few cabbages of their own so if mine are relocated it will be interesting to note if they disappear instead.
Like the plan Ace I will get onto that too. I am hoping to get a photo and if they ring the bell so to speak it will be easier to catch them at it.
Many thanks realfood, do you a link to one.
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Does your council not dish out free shed alarms shed alarms they are easy to rig up with trip wires, I dont know if we have any left up the shop but if there is i would willingly send you a couple.
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I know exactly how you feel, I lose a lot of stuff off my allotment. This years has been really bad. The worst was the loss of 6 1kg buttercup squash last year I was furious. My plan was to use an Apple corer this years on one and put something horrible inside like a dead mouse and closing it up again but they didn't get big enough this years.
Another idea I've had is get some cornflour and blue food colouring mix and sprinkle it over the veges.....makes it look like it's been treated with something nasty.
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I must admit I have split my greens this year between the allotment and garden. As I have a feeling this might happen on my site, as already this year had my blackcurrants stripped. The plot next to mine lost their strawberries. I do feel for you Digeroo. But I do like Ace and Kea's idea's and will be putting them into use.
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I ended up putting a 7ft fence around my plot after veg thefts. Tin sheeting for the bottom third and chicken wire for the top 2 thirds.
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When produce is stolen from your plot ALWAYS report it to the committee, it could be other people are having problems also. It might be worth getting a few trusted plotholders together and organising some evening and early morning watches onsite.
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Due to thefts on our plot we asked the officer in charge to take steps,he offered to install dummy cams on a long pole,at present there are 4 that
give a 180 degree view,and although they are dummies the allotmenteers the last 2 years have suffered no further fruit losses from their respective plots.
Ill grant you not a pleasent way to carry on accussing your fellow plotters of stealing....but....it has stopped.
The officer put a clear sign on the board so that ALL were aware of cameras being installed and for what reason.
http://www.icctvsystems.co.uk/Item/swann_dummy_cctv_cameras
These are not the same as we have but a "cheap" option to maybe solve your situation.
Gazza
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I have asked around and there have been a few other losses. One guy has lost a lot of spinach. .
I like the idea of the cctv cameras. We do not have a committee the site is a private one.
Some of the other losses might be deer. My cabbages went including the root and so I am sure it is human. Deer tend to nibble as do rabbits. At the moment though the deer are going for the strawberry leaves.
I was worried about my Xmas sprouts to I have dug them up and resited to my garden.
But I have put up a notice saying I have contaminated some of the veg and sprinkled anti theft dust about the place and so far this seems to be working. (Sorry the formula of the dust if a closely guarded secret).
I caught a strange woman on site a couple of weeks ago and asked her politely but firmly to leave. There is very little winter veg on our site so my plot is something of a target.
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If you catch the woman again or anyone else wandering around get them to hold something for you ( cup plastic bottle etc} befor you tell them to b****** off, you will then have fingerprints to pass on to others. The wildlife lot have stealth cameras very small battery operated take pictures day or night, there are some here http://www.trail-camera.co.uk/wildlife/Trail-Camera.htm.
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You guys need to be very careful about this cctv stuff.
I, for one, would object enough for you to leave the lotty in tears again if you were filming me without my permission.
Sorry folks, but that's me. I will not consent to being filmed 'just in case' I am a criminal.
What I do on my allotment is a matter between me and my allotment, and nobody else.
Ccv is not the panacea some paint it to be, not by a long way. So far, all the studies I have seen show that without doubt, it does nothing to prevent crime.... Except in car-parks which also have foot-patrols with a working radio contact.
While it may seem easy to just plop a camera down somewhere to solve a crime, it isn't. You don't automatically have the right to film people going about their perfectly legal business in case one of them is a criminal.
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Digeroo, as the site is privately owned you should inform your landlord of the thefts. If he/she is not prepared to manage the site correctly ask them to organise a general meeting of plotholders so that a managing committee can be formed.
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Mr B the trail cams will only take a pic of someone on the plot WHERE THEY SHOULD NOT BE. Personally if my trail cam gets a pic of someone i do not bother lilly law as attempted burglars at home have found out.
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If the camera only photographs people on your plot it can't be a problem. The law requires a notice saying the area of your plot is being photographed.....it doesn't say how big the sign has to be.
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My measures seem to be working. Cabbages stopped disappearing. :icon_cheers: :icon_cheers: The anti theft powder is certainly putting people off. I have no problem with putting up a huge sign.
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If the camera only photographs people on your plot it can't be a problem. The law requires a notice saying the area of your plot is being photographed.....it doesn't say how big the sign has to be.
.. But it does have to be placed where people can see it easily. People must be made aware if you are covering public places with it, and even footpaths count if the public can access them, you then become the Data Controller and have a whole list of things to do to ensure the security and disposal of the images etc...... And with good reason, in my opinion. :glasses9:
Sign away Digeroo. :icon_cheers: I'm really pleased that you're getting some good results!
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That's awful! I lose a lot to pests but thankfully none to human pests so far. Maybe it's a sign of how desperate some people are?
Even desperate people can have morals - asking is easy.
Stealing is not acceptable.
I would contact your allotment committee and ask for the rules to be enforced - a few notices saying anyone seen removing produce for another persons plot will receive immediate eviction / withdrawal of tenancy and a life time ban from the site.
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http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/visine.asp
I recommend you pop a sign up warning people you have used this on your veg and your letting them know so that when they have to call an 999 they know whats caused it :)
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Ace had the right idea with the fishing line and rape alarm there.but I would go one further..look in biker magazines and you will find a thing advertised called a "Door Mine" it is basically a trip wire that sets off a 'blank' shotgun cartridge....doubt anyone would return after one of those went off next to them...
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Digeroo are you still having problems with vanishing crops or have things improved?
I would be extremely disheartened if it happened to me! :BangHead:
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Things are a bit better at the moment. Not much to eat. Luckily they do not seem to like parsnips and rhubarb. Though I have lost a compost bin, but luckily it was one I was given. Though I did have a nice pointed spring cabbage and it has vanished.
I have just planted out some more cabbage plants so it will be interesting to see how many I actually get to eat.
There are more people about at the moment so hopefully things will be ok for a while.
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Things are a bit better at the moment. Not much to eat. Luckily they do not seem to like parsnips and rhubarb. Though I have lost a compost bin, but luckily it was one I was given. Though I did have a nice pointed spring cabbage and it has vanished.
I have just planted out some more cabbage plants so it will be interesting to see how many I actually get to eat.
There are more people about at the moment so hopefully things will be ok for a while.
The compost bin has gone?!! Might it have been blown onto someone else's plot?
If I were you I'd mark my initials and post code onto anything else (buckets etc) that I have on the plot. If they vanish at least you would be able to prove they were yours!
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Looked everywhere for the bin. Marking things is a good idea, I mark all my bean canes in morse code, it is easier to write.
I found the lid for my other bin on someone else bin, easy to spot mine is grey and their's is black. It ended up on a water butt saying compost bin!! Did not blow off, it is almost impossible to get off.
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Looked everywhere for the bin. Marking things is a good idea, I mark all my bean canes in morse code, it is easier to write.
I found the lid for my other bin on someone else bin, easy to spot mine is grey and their's is black. It ended up on a water butt saying compost bin!! Did not blow off, it is almost impossible to get off.
One other thing you could do in case of any dispute is to take a camera to the plot with you. Use it to photograph anything that might "wander off". If you find your property somewhere else take a photo of where it's got to and show the plot managers / site wardens.
We are (touch wood) very lucky. I have only once lost anything from my plot. I couldn't find my fairly new stainless steel swoe in the shed... hunted everywhere for it then realised in my haste to get back to cook my parents meal I had forgotten to pick it up from the path.
A few days later (while still searching for it) I peered into a neighbour's shed and there it was! Later still I mentioned it to my neighbour when I saw him and he told me his son-in-law had found it and put it there. As no one had asked about the tool it had gone to the finder.... but it was returned very promptly with an unnecessary apology. After all it was partly my fault for leaving it on a shared path I guess. I certainly wont do it again!!
If I had left it on my plot it would have still been there when I went back.
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I have painted my plot number on all components of daleks and water butts, in a BIG font. But canes and sticks go missing all the time. The next roll of netting I buy will be bright red, not the ubiquitous green that seems to disappear then suddenly a neighbour has got a new brassica tunnel. It's difficult to not let all this scum get to you sometimes.
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A bit late reading this post but it reminded me of my dad who died 28 years ago. My dad was a brillant gardener and a very successful produce exhibitor. This was the days when most of the pubs had a Sunday lunch time show for a few pounds prize money. We were a poor family but well fed from the allotment so a few pounds would be most welcome to the family budget if he won.
Anyway someone stole some of his prize onions which he was famous for. Dad's remedy was to insert razor blades ( the old fashion single ones) into the tops of some of his remaining onions so that if someone came in the middle of the night to steal them he would go home with more than an onion in his hand. As kids we were told to look out for anyone with bandages on his hands.
I am not suggesting for one minute that anyone should copy these type of methods but times were hard and money was scarce. On reflection the razor blades were the best option as my dad was 6' 2" and an ex military policeman so a cut hand would be less painfull than my him catching the thief red handed.
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Leave a big sign there "To who ate my cabbages. I pissed on them daily to keep the butterflies off - hope you enjoyed the flavour".