Just thought I would share our disappointment at having all our ripe strawberries removed by person/persons unknown. On Friday we had a whole host of lovely ripe strawberries but ran out of time to pick them. Takes a while to remove the net and replace it. We decided to pick them on Saturday and leave the rally big one for a competition on Sunday. What a mistake. All but a few small unripe strawberries took a walk overnight Friday. I am sure that neither the foxes or badgers are intelligent enough to take the metal ties out and half repace them. The same night another plot holder lost all of his gooseberries and another had several of his potatoes taken. This is our first year at growing so we are disappointed. We have dug up our row of Rocket potatoes as they were ready and would have hated to have lost those too. Must be very sad or needy people to take other people's veggies.
Its happened to me a couple of times. Lost all my sweetcorn once but you have to keep on going. It can be difficult if you think that fellow plotholders may be responsible though..
I'm sorry that's happened. Sadly I think that we're going to read more similar stories over the coming months.
I'd also mention it to your local police safer neighbourhood team, just for information if nothing else. We have an officer who visits the allotments, on his mountain bike, most weeks who has asked us to report any damage or theft.
what a shame, have you any idea who it was, put some notices up saying your crops have been sprayed with insecticide, may make them think twice :(
Thanks for the reply.Pretty sure that it isn't anyone on the site. We are behind a row of houses all with only low chicken wire fences. The older plotholders have said they have lost stuff in the past. Only yesterday one of them was pelted with nuts and sweets while he was strimming by one of the teenagers in the houses. The site manager went round to try and sort it. We do have 2 security cameras trained on the plot from two of these houses but I don't think they are always switched on. We won't give in to this but it does take the excitement off our first season.
We went to the site yesterday and a fellow plotholder said that someone had sat on their chairs to eat someone elses strawberries and left the stalks and leaves on their table and on the ground. They were so glad that theirs weren't ripe enough. I don't mind when the birdies take a few on the edge but I cannot tolerate thieves
There are some pretty lower-than-a-snakes-belly individuals out there. Sorry you have had your enthusiasm blighted, Jean.
Is there any way you can plant (and maintain) a hedge along the chicken wire bit? Preferably a prickly one (!)? We are a small site with areas around us where teens etc. loiter in the evenings, but being an old established site we have thick hedges all around and it helps.
I dont understand people that could take things that dont belong to them! >:( We have not long had someone evicted from the site im on. He was pinching other plot holders crops! :-[
So sorry Jeanbean hope they catch the bugger
xx
Hope they got the trots at least Jean. Manics suggestion is a goodie, I make no secret of my love of slug pellets and other nasty applications.
I do admit to being a bit naive and disbelieving that anyone would take anything from the plot. Perhaps it is because I was bought up not to take anything that didn't belong to me. I learnt my lesson when very young. I am certainly no goody goody but do respect other people's property.The idea of a warning notice of something nasty is certainly a good one so I am now about to design something appropriate. Unfortunately, there is not enough room between the low fence and the plots to grow anything. This is an access path to some of the plots. Thanks for all of your kind words. Such a nice site to belong to
I can sympathise, having had sweetcorn and runner beans stolen in my first year, more runners and strawberries stolen last year, and strawberries again this year >:( and I'm pretty certain it's by another plot holder. everyone seems to know who he is but no one is interested in doing anything about it, it's just accepted as "the way it is". I take my camera with me every time I go to my plot in the hope of catching him at it, then I'll be straight into the council offices to get him thrown off the site. what makes it worse is that due to the rabbit population everyone has pretty substantial fencing round their plots, so the thief has to make quite an effort to climb over and get it. the first year he'd moved pallets and made himself a set of steps :o I'm now in the process of growing thorny stuff along all the boundaries, but it's pretty depressing sometimes.
I'd say growing a nice thorny hawthorn hedge might be worth a try, it's pretty quick growing and REALLY painful to tackle! oh, just read your post... hmm, can you make the fence any taller?
chin up though :) most people are nice decent law-abiding folks so don't let the minority get you down
I've had a few onions nicked and I know it was someone on the plot, >:( they were quite big but still had their greenery on so I left them in and some bugger swiped em, sweetcorn and carrots last year. I've got signs up like the Scousers have said, poison crops and theives will be scarecrowed but these scum bags just dont give a monkeys. I may set a trap this year I know others on our site do, chin up Jean. :( :( :(
Sorry to hear that Jean, its a terrible thing to happen. :(
so sorry Jean :(
I sometimes envy you all with allotments (I'm a back garden veg grower) for the community aspect,
but I'll stick to A4A for company ;)
That's really sad, sorry to hear it. I think I'd be really tempted to rig up a little battery-run motion-activated camera, concealed somewhere about the place. Of course, won't be much use if they come after dark (unless you rig up a flash as well, which is getting a bit impractical!) but they may be so brazen that it's late evening - or if it's an allotmenteer, any time they find themselves unobserved.
You can get them very cheap these days - more than the cost of the lost fruit and veg, I imagine, but nevertheless - it may give you the satisfaction of finding out who it is!
so sorry Jean don't be so sure it's not somebody on site we know of one individual who helps himself >:(and one guy had his melons and his apples taken the week he was away on holiday 8)he's on site everyday apart from his hols coincidence or what ::)if all else fails buy a shotgun oops sorry not p.c :-X
Here's some security cameras:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Outdoor_Security_Camera.search
Or maybe you could get the allotment committee to take contributions to put a few up around the place, for maximum benefit? There may be aspects to this that I haven't thought through... :)
Does anyone else here have any CCTV or motion-sensor cameras on their sites?
We have a couple.. on the main entrance...
Sorry to hear you have had stuff nicked... :'(
almost all my cherries have disappeared in the last couple of days, but having found the gap in the netting I'm sure it's the blackbird, at least he didn't get caught up in it as well... ::)
I seem to be beating the blackbird to the cherries by picking them before they're deep red, and letting them ripen on the windowsill. Working for me! I don't think the blackbird has much success with them till they actually become soft, they must simply bounce of his beak when they're still firm. :) Bet he wishes he had opposable thumbs too.
Sorry to hear about your strawberries. I know how disheartening this can be because the first year I had my plot someone stole all my onions. They weren't even ready for picking as it was only April.
It's strange that this topic should come up now because yesterday a plotholder reported that some of her canes had been stolen from her shed. She wants us to "do something about it". If we put notices up saying that theft will be reported to the police and anyone caught will be instantly thrown off the site would that work? I have my doubts but I will probably make the notices anyway.
Other things have been stolen from plots recently including an almost full 75lt. bag of compost. It is not a nice feeling to know that there is a thief on the site.
We just have to hope that it is someone from outside.
I hope allotment theft as moved further up the Police 'You're Nicked' list now that it seems to be the latest flavour of the month thing to do before I die rather than a 'Don't do it again sonny', ;)
Jeanbean sorry to hear this, its a horrible and mean thing to happen. Lots of suggestions on here for trying to tackle it
Take Care
1066
That is so horrible after all your efforts, some people are just plain mean!
Hugs
Lushy x
i used to work in an establishment that had a garden without fences, the strawberries used to get pinched so on day we injected then all with saline solution , didn't have any go missing after that!