Bye bye PSB and Kale

[gregorach]

Mine got nailed by geese last year. Believe me, they can make one heck of mess of your veg patch. Still, some managed to survive...

Haven't been down to the plot since the snow went... Fingers crossed. :)

[Christine]

My allotment partner and I had pots of pak choi, kale and salad leaves on his greenhouse shelf (that's the bit we partner on) and during the snow, rats moved in (he identified the poo) and chomped the kale and pak choi - though not the salad leaves, so they weren't on a diet. We've decided to leave the sad remains and see whether they come back, on the principle that we have nothing to replace them with...
On a more expensive note, I made the very grave error of not removing the netting from the top of the fruit cage, while on a quick visit to his allotment to brace up some dodgy rotten bits of greenhouse roof after the 4 inch fall at end Nov/start Dec and - you guessed it - we had a further foot or so and the whole thing has collapsed, even though the uprights were cemented a good foot into the soil...

[Christine]

Don't give up entirely on the PSB and kale, though you'll be waiting for both, as my PSB was broken down and stripped of leaves by the snow last Jan/Feb and did manage a small, late crop...

[Millymollymandy]

I thought you were going to say the cold did them in Susie, which wouldn't have surprised me, but they would have been insulated under all that snow so probably your minus 15 didn't affect them so bad. Anyway I am really sorry!

Mine are still alive thankfully but I did fleece them a few times as they died in the cold spell last winter and I have also put up a sort of windbreak on the northern side as they are really exposed.

I'm also having problems with garlic coming up out of the ground but I think that is the continual freezing of the ground then thawing out - they have roots on but keep finding them just popping up out of a frozen little tunnel. Well it's defrosted now so I've replanted and just hope for the best.

[citizentwiglet]

Fortunately my kale and PSB was under net at the community garden, and seems OK; but something has definitely been after my garlic which, stupidly, I didn't net. It hasn't taken the lot, so I've chucked a bit of tatty old fleece over the rest and am keeping my fingers crossed......

[Amateur]

I'm venturing down to our youth groups allotment today so crossing my fingers things will have survived.
Going to try and make a head start in laying a couple of wood chip paths (if the wood chip has defrosted!)

[Green Aura]

If you leave them will they regrow?

[Amateur]

Ha!
Got down there in the afternoon and managed to dig over a couple of paths. Left happy thinking I'd lay some weedproof fabric and wood chip on the weekend. Got up this morning and it's only blinking snowed again! Grrr

[niknik]

I really don't see how they can Maggie, the tops have been chewed off and every single leaf has gone, they just look like old bits of walking stick sticking out of the ground! I'll leave them and see if miracles really do happen

I had some PSB growing, and it got attacked by some bugs . I chopped all the tops off to dispose off. ( couldnt fit the stalk in said bag, and as they looked ok , I thought I´d leave them and give them to the chickens .

within just a few days , about half had started sprouting some lovely new foliage..............

just have to wait and see now if actually get anything more. but it looks promising so far!

[Spuddle]

Sorry to hear about your Kale and PSB, SusieGee. Mine were also stripped to the stalks by the pigeons - those that hadn't already been taken by the caterpillars and slugs that is.
I picked what was left of the cabbages today and must have washed out a hundred horrid little slugs that had buried into the centres. Out of four cabbage heads we had enough for one meal for two!
I've had it up to here with brassicas!

[yvette]

Sorry for your loss. Most of the damage in our garden is caused by the darned squirrel - either trying to bury things or digging up what I have put it. But it makes me laugh, so I put up with it.