"Gillian" wrote
Hi - I've just rejoined the group after several years' gap. I have a
lament and a question.

Just wondered if anyone else was having veg troubles in this wet
season. On the ridge above the Thames Valley I've lost the outdoor
tomatoes and the maincrop (Pink Fir Apple) potatoes to blight, but
also to voles/mice - I think the latter, as I've noticed lots of
tunnelling round the fruit trees when we cut the long grass. I've dug
the onions early, fearing rot, and the raspberries and strawberries
died from botrytis or similar.

On the other hand, the salad leaves have been extra lush this year.

My question was is it worth while trying to get rid of/discourage the
voles or should I just shrug and hope for better luck next year? I've
never had my maincrop eaten before storage before.

Hope everyone's weather dries up a bit.

Yes it's certainly an unusual growing season. Most things on our allotment
are growing lushly but are behind where they would normally be for the time
of year. Whilst all our Potatoes now are showing signs of Blight our few
"Ferline" tomatoes are OK despite the rest of the row of other varieties
turning black through Blight.
Our two rows of pea seeds were all lost the first time of planting to mice,
after covering the second planting with fine wire netting we did get some up
but all the young pods were then taken off and stored in hiding places by
the same mice. In the end, and after finding a dead rat amongst our
cabbages, we resorted to rodent bait, in sealed boxes to try to remove any
chance of anything else getting killed. They do seem to have gone now and
the few remaining pea pods are swelling.
I'm afraid bait will be used as a matter of course for the next few years,
it's them or us.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK .