On 25/07/2012 08:51, mark wrote:
I don't know if it can be blamed on the weather but here's my report:

Pear trees (2): Hardly any pears
Plum trees (3): Hardly any plums

none to speak of, after a bumper crop last year

Apples: Doing okay

ditto for Cox and James Grieve, but the Bramley that gave us a wonderful
harvest last year has set just 3 fruit.

Red currants: Much reduced crop

Black currants one variety loaded the other bare.

Strawberries: Disappointing, down by a half.

10 misshapen fruit out of the entire row. Lousey pollination, and many
rotted off. The ones that did develop well were taken or ruined by mice,
before they were fully ripe.
The mice had stripped 2 or 3 of the goosegog bushes too, before I
realised it.

Set traps, and have caught 20 mice so far. (given up now - no more fruit
for them to pinch).;


Slugs: bumper crop!

Amazing plague of slugs! I have tried for about 10 years to live in
harmony with the wildlife in the garden. I have a large pond and
actively encourage the frogs and newts etc. I leave areas of the garden
suitable for hedgehogs and small beasts to live in peace.
This year, the mice and the slugs have driven me to revise my approach.
Traps and slug pellets have been deployed with only limited success.

I have put in seedlings and they have been eaten off in a few hours!

Neither I nor the neighbour have seen an increase in snails though.
Anyone else find this odd, or are we exceptional?

One bright note, I have been seen chasing around the garden like a
loonie, driving off the cabbage whites, that have just appeared. At
least this means we have some sun instead of persistant rain.

Al.