Vermin

The major challenge last year came from the Vermin.  I now know my enemies, and they are primarily, muntjak, badgers, squirrels, pigeons, rabbits and mice.  I would love to live in harmony with them, but they seem to have other ideas.  Perhaps they have more of a claim on the land, as they depend on it for survival, whereas compared to them I am a Marie Antoinette, just playing at life in the wild.  However, it is not a good idea to break the limbs of apple trees in order to obey the demands of your stomach, whether you are human or another species.  Here is a list of crimes, and the perpetrator, and my actions so far

Unreparable damage to apple trees - Muntjak.
Have removed broken limbs of tree.

Unprovoked attack on nesting birds and their young, destruction of nesting box - Unknown, suspect magpie or red kite.
Have removed nesting box.  Won't be putting another one up.

Repeated overnight total consumption of organic slug pellets - strongly suspect pigeons, having seen evidence in droppings, possibly mice as well.
I now only use these under nets.  I have bought a double tier rainbow windmill from Poundland in the hope it will scare the pigeons, but I doubt it will work for long. 

Decimation of pea crop, twice.  Mice, possibly pigeons.
Will try pea sticks this year.

Decimation of strawberry popcorn crop, once was enough.  Badgers.
Will grow plants in pots amongst squash for space saving, then remove to greenhouse when the cobs ripen.

Damage to dwarf French beans. Could be any or all of them, most likely rabbits, slugs, mice. 

Consumption of all new growth and leaves on echinacea just a few days after I'd planted it.  Rabbit, specifically the one looking at me in a brazen manner from underneath the tiny shed a couple of days later.   I know who you are you have been warned. 

Removal of new growth on rose and resulting inhibition of growth.  Muntjak.

The Muntjak and the Badgers ingress through the weak fence on one side of my plot.  The chicken wire bows in a melancholic fatigued manner where the deer leep over, and there is a similar area in the corner where the badger gets in.  This year a major project is to strengthen this boundary before I plant anything in the ground.  It will take tall wooden posts, the roll of chicken wire I knew I was saving for something, and the cultivation of a prickly hedge.  I intend to try and practice some hedgelaying once it is mature enough.  I already have some berberis cuttings developing, and hope to introduce blackthorn and hawthorn there too.  The only problem is they might leach a fair bit of moisture out of the soil, which won't be good for the crops.  I think I'll strengthen the chicken wire first and see how effective it is. 

I think the destruction of the strawberry popcorn, along with the wanton vandalism of the apple tree, were the most upsetting incidents.  In the case of the popcorn the little blighters lulled me into a false sense of security, as they left the plants alone until the cobs were just beginning to ripen, then they raised the lot to the ground.  It was like a massacre, and it was particularly heartrending because I had just been admiring the plants the day before.  The sun was shining on the silk on the cobs, and the long slender leaves were making beautiful rippling wave forms in the breeze. 

I am hoping that the baby blue tits survived.  They were just about to fledge, which I know is the time that Magpies go for them.  It was quite bizzare, because one morning I discovered the bird box neatly placed on the chair.  It was as if someone had put it there, but I asked around and nobody had.  It must have just neatly fallen from the side of the shed, avoiding any damage to the ceramic lady underneath it.  When I looked inside there was a beautifully made nest of moss and feathers with not a speck of dirt on it, and there was a very frightened blue tit cowering in one corner.  I placed the box in the hanging basket to let her recover in a safe space.  I think she must have done because later on there was no trace of her, just the beautiful nest. 

So this year it's personal.  I may not depend totally on my plots for survival, but I put a lot of time, money and energy into them, and that deserves respect.  I may have to call in a favour from someone....