On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 22:44:01 +0100, sam wrote:

Every year I have planted onion sets in my modest vegetable plot, and
before they have had time to get established several of them are lifted,
by birds (presumably).The sets are left lying on the ground.Why do birds
do this ? This year,for the first time, I have covered the sets with
fleece, which will remain place until the onions are well established;
but I would still like to know the reason for this strange behaviour.

I've tried covering my onion sets with fleece this year, too. I took it off
this afternoon and guess what? Some of them had been pulled out of the
ground!

Not just pulled out, but stacked neatly in groups of three to five. None of
the pulled-out sets have roots, so they must have been pulled within a few
days of planting (two weeks ago).

As it couldn't have been birds, I think mice must be to blame. But why would
they do this? The sets haven't been eaten (I've re-planted them) so they
weren't collecting them for food.

--
Neil

Visit my Peak District walking website - www.peakwalking.co.uk