Monday, June 4

New variety of brassica

I wonder if this new variety of brassica will appear in next year's seed catalogues. It's a cabbage aptly named Pesky Pigeon. It's a novelty variety having hardly any leaves at all! You could be unintentionally trying it out next year. Or maybe you have already grown it this year like us.

cropped brassica

Last year we did have a little damage from wood pigeons but this year they seem to be waging an all out assault on our brassicas. They are swooping down on the plots in flocks and devastating all in their path like a swarm of locusts. Are other sites having similar problems this year? Have the wood pigeons had a good breeding season? Are they homing in on allotments because their more natural habitat is decreasing? Do they just see allotments as easy pickings especially now we have a full occupancy on site? Is it a ploy by the retailers of netting - have they shipped in the birds? Or are the supermarkets importing them?
Today as we netted our crops the vandals watched us from the telegraph wires. No doubt they were watching for any weakness in our defences and would dash down to investigate as soon as the site was quiet.

Let us know if where you garden has seen an increase in marauding pigeons and what you do to beat them!

3 comments:

  1. Just been reading a bit on the web about wood pigeons and wanted to share a quote:
    "Since the 1970s the population (of wood pigeons) has increased rapidly, which may be a result of the expansion of intensive arable farming and in particular oilseed rape."

    If you read the video diaries on the web site you will know by now what I think of oil-seed rape. I now have just another reason to think the huge amount grown in our fields is a bad thing!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 08, 2007

    I don't think it's just pigeons, there seems to be plenty of Doves watching and waiting. Think an air rifle or 3 should do the trick, followed by a casserole! It's either that or we try to encourage hawks on site.

    ReplyDelete
  3. There are collared doves around but everything that I have read about them says that their diet is confined to seeds and grains so I don't think we can blame them. If you have proof that this is wrong then I will stand corrected.

    Also people have reported seeing wood pigeons in flocks on the plots.

    It is a bit like the death penalty isn't it - it's too late to find out that the wrong bird has been blamed after shooting them.

    We already have quite a few hawks (especially sparrowhawks)that patrol the site and I am sure the pigeon men would be upset if they started taking their homing pigeons.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment - it is great to hear from you and know that there are people out there actually reading what I write! Come back soon.
(By the way any comments just to promote a commercial site, or any comments not directly linked to the theme of my blog, will be deleted)
I am getting quite a lot of spam. It is not published and is just deleted. I have stopped sifting through it and just delete any that ends up in my spam folder in one go so I am sorry if one of your messages is deleted accidentally.
Comments to posts over five days old are all moderated.