Those pesky wabbits!

[Plottie]

Having acquired our plot last summer, Mr P and I set about making it as rabbit proof as we could....fenced all around with chicken wire that has holes too small for the pesky things to get through and dug in sections of metal shelving around the base of the  fence to stop them digging under. So, all seemed well (I bet you know what's coming next!)...

Last autumn we planted spring greens that are now ready  and are delicious. These are growing under netting (to deter the b*****s from above i.e. pigeons) One evening last week when I went to pick a cabbage I accidentally left one corner of the netting unsecured and guess what? when we went to the plot this weekend we saw that something had crept in under the netting and eaten its fill of the greens >:(

So, there we were, walking round, inspecting our fences like crazed border guards and we found a gap we hadn't fenced properly. This has now been fixed, but 'once bitten (nibbled?) twice shy' I was convinced they might still have a way in and am now thinking ahead to when we start our main plantings.........what (if anything) do rabbits NOT eat (other than potatoes and onions which i know are safe as these haven't been touched)?? Will I be able to leave anything un-netted?? :-\

Plottie  :'(

[Plottie]

[osprey480]

Plottie, My rabbits have and aquired taste for onions haha, they eat the leaves only, the same with shallots and spring onions. They by- pass lettuce to get to onions. I have never had my lettuce knobbled which was a surprise to me. they have never touched my tomatoes, broad beans or potatoes, But perhaps rabbit tastes vary from place to place. They are all waiting now for me to put out my runner bean plants in June as they love the tender tips, but they will be disapointed this year ;D as I have grown them taller and unless they get some stilts will have to stick to the onions.

[Derek]

Are you sure its the rabbits Plottie?

I netted my cabbages a couple of years ago but inadvertantly left a small gap just as you did..it wasn't the Butler that did it this time it was the pesky pigeons.

We don't have rabbits (not that I have seen) there are too many foxes on site

Derek

[Robert_Brenchley]

You can get rabbits anywhere, at least for a while. My plot is a mile from the centre of Birmingham, the last place you'd expect to find them, but about three winters back, one appeared during a cold spell, having apparently come down either the railway or the canal. So we had rabbits for a while - almost certainly rabbits plural - and they had most of my parsnips the following autumn. Eventually they vanished, very likely due to the foxes, but they did their share of damage first.

[Diana]

Can anyone lend me a fox? ::)

I counted over 3 dozen of the prolific little swines just the other side of the wall last night!

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with no sympathy at all for the long-eared rats.

[Diana]

Anyone harvest them?

Robert, my attitude has really changed in the last 6 months I can tell you!

Thinking of taking up shooting this winter - don't know what else to do about it - a diet of just potatoes...?

[wardy]

The rabbits on my allotments are dying of myximatosis so we shouldn't have a much damage as usual.  Most folks though fence off their whole plots

[Robert_Brenchley]

Take up shooting, and stew them with potatoes and herbs, since you can grow the latter indoors or in window boxes where they should be safe.

[Plottie]

Derek
Pretty sure it was rabbits as there appeared to be  big bite marks. >:(....my frustration now lies in the fact that although I'm fairly sure we've  secured our fences I just don't know for sure.... ::)
Plottie
(hating rabbits and wanting a fox)

[moonbells]

Can anyone lend me a fox? ::)

I counted over 3 dozen of the prolific little swines just the other side of the wall last night!

You can have some of our foxes...  they come with their own problems, not the least of which is a tendency to dig up seed beds leaving you with craters!

moonbells

[Robert_Brenchley]

Are you sure that was foxes? I've had them all over my plot and never seen anything like that.