Seedlings disappearing overnight ! ...

MRSMCAWBER

Hi 2pworth

Have you been doing lots of digging in your garden recently? If so that may account for the cats..they love freshly dug earth to use as a loo :mad:
I have noticed a couple of "gifts" this last week on the garden :mad:
So i have put an old seed tray at the bottom of the garden...filled it with compost/soil and low and behold the little sods have used it as a litter tray -but rather that than my garden .... I will just tip it in the bin every few days and give them more fresh soil....
The other thing im going to do is dot bottles filled with water around the garden..its said that the movement and reflections off the water makes them nervous....guess its worth a try

As for your cabbages... did you plant them outside? or in a green house?.. only im wondering if they got too warm and bolted... Or it could just be the stress of being transplanted..
the laceys leaves sound like something is munching on them..are they in pots or in the ground? you could try throwing some fine net over (even an old net curtain will do) that will stop butterflies etc laying eggs on them and the pigeons from eating them..
You can also throw crushed egg shells down around them so that slugs n snails won't go after them....
I have just started off pak choi from seed so im going to have that battle to fight too :rolleyes:

hope thats some help... im sure someone esle wil be along soon with more help

MRSMCAWBER

kazwookie wrote: »

Water pistol for the cats!!

:rotfl: I have sat doing that with the adjustable plant mister when i have seen them about to come into the garden :T

Farway

2pworth wrote: »

hi there
I'm also trying to grow veg in amongst my plants. I've got two questions to ask I planted out Chinese cabbage last Sat which cost me £2.99 fpr 6 within 3days they'd got flowers and looked like lace, what did I do wrong? and every cat in the neighbourhood now thinks my garden is there toilet how do you keep them out?
hope someone out there can help
2pworth

The flowers, seems you bought too big plants, try from seed, or smaller plants

One reason plants run to seed [bolt] is warm weather, which we had last week, as you transplanted them maybe they got dry or disturbed roots and "thought" they were about to die, often the last thing a plant does before it snuffs it is flower & set seed, to ensure it's line lives on

Lace curtains is either slugs or caterpillars, possibly pigeons but they more peck the edges of leaves

Cats, there is no cure except sharp eyes, or a dog, and watch where you put your hands when weeding, sometimes sticks etc can act as deterrent, or at least make them go elsewhere

egon

Hi there,

We are planting our veg in pots, as we have a small garden, and the grass is for the kids.

My beetroot was eaten a week ago. Now some of my raddishes have been attacked. I cannot see anything what could be responsible for it.
I now have replaced the compost with a different one. i hope this helps.

Any idea what it could be though???

Thanks a bunch

egon

library_lass

In my garden, lacy leaves = earwigs at work. The keel slug mentioned earlier (we call it the fruit gum slug!) is carnivorous and eats other slugs. If I find one - and they are quite rare - I pop it back in and hope it doesn't find too many earthworms instead.

jollyanna

I've had my sweetcorn seedlings chewed in my greenhouse and I reckon it's mice as the plastic cover over the seed tray is shifted to one side and I don't think a snail would do that.
As for the cats, try making them feel at home by having friendly words with them because I don't think they use "welcome/friendly" territory as a lavvy. I have a couple of visiting cats which I don't mind as we definately have mice in the garden and I hope they chase the mice off.
Something I have tried in the past to deter cats and foxes is to crush moth balls (inside a plastic bag) and scatter the stuff along borders to put them off the scent of that lovely fresh compost.

Lotus-eater

Cats are like many things, good and bad. I get absolutely no damage from birds at all, mice and other pests are routinely caught, she deters rats from the garden.
Its my cat and she definitely does do her doings in her territory!

I've tried holly and sharp twigs, they are just a pita for you to garden around.
Now I mostly have raised beds, I use chicken wire, which is 900mm wide, it almost covers the 1200mm wide beds, I find covered with this wire, the cat leaves the bed alone, when the vegetation is covering enough the wire can come off.