Just wondered if many of you have the problem we do on our site with growing sweetcorn. We are blessed in our area with many of that admirable beast the badger ( I even have a family that visit my garden in the evening ) The small downside is that come sweetcorn ripening time those badgers are crazy for this crop. Many an allotment holder has seen their crop disappear overnight. Many ingenious fortresses and scarers are devised with varying degrees of success.
Mine is shown below
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12330768@N06/6112359892/
It is a manure heap with an upper compost layer contained by brick pallets. I have two such constructions with approx 20 sweetcorn plants each. They are underplanted with butternut squash and cucumber with some runners and raspberries growing up the sides.
It seems to work they haven't climbed it so far !. Any others have the same problem?
Couple of years ago quite a few people on my site lost their sweetcorn to badgers but they may have moved on as no trouble last year and none so far this year - not many are growing it now. Your set up looks pretty impressive.
I have read they can jump/climb 4 feet and dig 2 feet down, so I doubt that your setup would put off a determined badger! People on our site have tried everything bar electric fencing and they still manage to sneak in. It may deter them a bit so they choose other people's easier to eat crops first though!
I made a similar badger barrier last year and it worked- the sweetcorn plants were nibled when they went out in the late spring, but managed to send out another shoot ( hmm just thought are they monocots?, must have been big enough to survive) .
As Lewc says they could get through if determined, but move on if not. There was a lot of digging near my sweet potatoes this year, but they have not reached them yet. ;)
There is a pub called the Badger and the area is called Brockwell! So I guess they were here first, I've never seen them on the allotments but walking home at night they can be seen scuttling around. It seems funny watching them scurry up a row of terrace houses ;D
Oh in answer to the actual question YES ;D
Your defenses look quite substantial. With raspberry canes on one side, what stops the badgers just pushing them aside? Lets hope if works.
Several people on our lost corn to badgers last year they seemed to just push over the whole plants and eat the corn. Effect was very devastating. So far no sign of badgers this year yet, whatever took some of my corn used a knife.
??? -sorry Digeroo
Quote from: Digeroo on September 05, 2011, 11:33:39
Your defenses look quite substantial. With raspberry canes on one side, what stops the badgers just pushing them aside? Lets hope if works.
Several people on our lost corn to badgers last year they seemed to just push over the whole plants and eat the corn. Effect was very devastating. So far no sign of badgers this year yet, whatever took some of my corn used a knife.
Digeroo the raspberry canes are covering up the pallet on that side. All four sides are made of pallets. Sorry to hear about your human predators that is really low >:(