Red & BBs retirement home......

tommy the cat

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 6, 2007
2,138
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SHROPSHIRE UK
Looking good Hugh. I've been given some rhubarb seed but its a bit old???
Might give it a go but mine will need dividing as you know.
I've got a darn mole here whose upsetting me at the mo!!!
He keeps coming up in the middle of the veggies and toppling them over!!d
 

tommy the cat

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 6, 2007
2,138
1
55
SHROPSHIRE UK
The chap who I went to see on the organic farm said he was paid as a kid to watch mole hills and when they started moving shoot it with a shotgun!!!
It's the shock wave that kills them he said!!
What dya do with moth balls put them in the run? Does it just make them move home?
Trying not to kill the bugger but he's testing my patience d
 

Goatboy

Full Member
Jan 31, 2005
14,956
18
Scotland
Or glass bottles buried into the runs/hills with a centimetre or two of the bottle top sticking out. The wind blows across the top and the whistley vibrations scare off the mole. Just be careful with the lawnmower if doing it on a lawn.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
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That's the way with the shotgun - if you watch the runs they tend to move along them at a regular time of day. Neighbour of mine has had quite a few that way.

Mothballs - just lob em down the surface holes - doesn't hurt them but they don't like the smell - mind you if you have an extensive run, traps are the way to go - I favour the tunnel trap over the scissor type but its not as easy as it looks!
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
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Here's the end of June update

The long stemmed wheat has...very long stems! About 4'8" two or three times the height of modern varieties. Should make for great straw, but I need the seed heads to plump up!


Wheat 09-07 by British Red, on Flickr

The sugar beet is flowering - several feet high and strongly smelling - I really hope to get some seed from this!


Sugar Beet Flower by British Red, on Flickr

Its a great year for strawberries


Strawberries by British Red, on Flickr


Strawberries by British Red, on Flickr

Cherries and apples look good too


Cherries by British Red, on Flickr


Apples by British Red, on Flickr

The Yacon is off to a slow start


Yacon by British Red, on Flickr

The broccoli looks good though and the net keeps the cabbage whites off


Brocolli by British Red, on Flickr

The peas aren't great - early pigeon damage didn't help


Peas by British Red, on Flickr

The field beans are magnificent though


Field Beans by British Red, on Flickr


Field Bean by British Red, on Flickr

Brussel Sprouts are well away - and the calendula is keeping the whitefly off


Brussel Sprouts by British Red, on Flickr

The Oca was slow to start, but grows till December so we may be all right there


oca by British Red, on Flickr

Carrots and parsnips both doing well


carrots and parsnips by British Red, on Flickr

Onions are magnificent (I do like my alliums)


Onions by British Red, on Flickr

...and the garlic is harvested!


Garlic by British Red, on Flickr

All in all a better year than it looked at the beginning!
 
Jul 12, 2012
1,309
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Liverpool
Hugh as always I am green with envy, we have two cheery trees in my garden one has a deses and wont produce more than a single cheery a year. And a small pot one that has a single red cheery that when picked tastes vile.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
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Only Three years old those trees mate - but you do need to net over any fruit cherries set or the birds get the lot!

I love cherries and hoping for bumper crops as the trees grow :)
 

tommy the cat

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 6, 2007
2,138
1
55
SHROPSHIRE UK
Looking good there!
My runners are starting to look happier than they were. Field beans flowering as are the bush peas. I can't eat the spinach quick enough ( as thought)
Sprouts getting better need thinning + a better cover needed now the debris material is here!!
 
Jun 27, 2011
105
0
Canada
British Red, as stated by everyone else, I'm quite envious of you and yours! I've looked at the pics for a while now, and you've done a wonderful job on the house and the land. Even here in Canada, your little house is the iconic type we dream of retiring in. BTW, congrats on your retirement, can hardly wait to get there myself. Loved your pics of the onions and garlic, was going to offer to come over and help you pick them, but see that you've already harvested them... Have fun at your new place. P.S. Would be nice to see some photos of the area you live in, when you go for a ramble. ;) Cheers Alex
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
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Jun 27, 2011
105
0
Canada
Thanks for the pics. Fen sunset is spot on. Can you go out walking on the Fens? Is it private or restricted in some way? Know I'd have to watch out for the cow 'patties'. ;) P.S. You take some nice pics.
Cheers
Alex
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,893
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You can, people walk them - and shoot them - the wildfowling is incredible. Dangerous for the inexperienced though, the channels and creeks fill fast when the tide comes in


Salt Marshes by British Red, on Flickr

If you get caught in the mud - which can be neck deep like quicksand - the crabs don't worry too much if you are dead yet!


Shore Crab wars by British Red, on Flickr

Lovely spot - but deep soft mud and fast tides can catch the unwary out!
 

Niels

Full Member
Mar 28, 2011
2,582
3
27
Netherlands
Red, lovely pictures of the area you live in. Sounds and looks like where you live is very similar to where I live, the island Sint Philipsland.

This is a salt marsh about 20 minutes walking from my home:



They surround most of the island, a number of them have been made into fresh water 20 years ago and are now forests with low biodiversity, many ticks and blue green algae. The governement is going to make them salt again in the coming years though.

We're not allowed on the salt ones at all, although people used to be allowed to hunt on them and gather plants like marsh samphire. Now you can only harvest the salt water plants with a permit and only in certain places.

Oh, and everything's flat here too.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,893
2,145
Mercia
We harvest samphire with huge sacks here Niels - it grows in huge amounts and gathering 100 kilos doesn't make a dent!
 

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