Cucumber Zeina F1
In the greenhouse..
I have cucumbers growing out of my ears. Only Mike eats them and we are seriously into a glut. At least a dozen so far have ended up on the compost heap and still they keep coming. They have started to colonise the roof..
Chilli Pepper ‘Summer Heat’ F1
The chilli plants are coming on well too.
Tomato Sungold
We have been harvesting cherry tomatoes for about a month now and still they’re going strong.
Again, more than Mike can eat.
Does this mean I’m prepared to share?
.
I started to notice a cache in one corner of the greenhouse..
Time for a stake out.
Although I’m pretty sure already who is going to carry the can..
Grrrrrrr!
Yum Yum
But don’t you be getting that camera too close to me now..
Scarper!
That is one little sneaky mouse. We have a chipmunk that nibbles on our tomatoes.
Very sneaky. And knowing full well it was being watched too.. Chipmunks look cute, but probably not if they have reached pest proportions.
Hahahahaha….am I allowed to say that that is absolutely adorable? xxxx
He (or she) has got cute toes I suppose..
Lovely set of photos, definitely caught in the act!
We had the last laugh… he got the tomato stuck in the hole!
Brilliant 😀
I’m kicking myself that we didn’t get the picture, it didn’t come out. 🙁
Well you know what I’m going to say- what a splendid little mouse! If you have a glut surely he can eat a few without facing one of Mike’s mouse-deterrents?
I’ve a feeling cucumbers can be turned into pickles or relishes. Not done it myself because it sounds vaguely revolting, but perhaps if they retained a crunchiness it would be ok?
I will consult the cucumber eater. They leave me cold, in any form. Must have been growing up on cucumber sandwiches that did it!
This the first year I have had a greenhouse, tomatoes are rampant, but cucumbers – rubbish!!! I won’t give up and will try again next year! I am sure Mousey appreciates the tomatoes!!
It was the same for me last year. Absolutely don’t give up.. every year is different! Mousey is looking very bright eyed on them, isn’t he?!
Yes, pickled cucumbers – yummy! Lovely vegetables and more than enough to go round and a little mouse doesn’t eat very much . . .
If only it were just the one.. it’s all his friends and relations I worry about!
Time to check out the internet for interesting things to do with cucumbers! What about tomato soup and tomato sauces to freeze for the winter time when we all need a bit of extra vitamin C.
Gorgeous little mouse – as long as he stays outside!
Definitely considering a tomato sauce of some kind. Also need to find a way of blocking up the mouse hole. I shall try hammering in some stones and trying to get them firmly wedged.
If you have so many what about selling them to local shop. They wont give you much and will mark up price, but its better than nothing. Or swap for eggs or whatever you dont grow. We usedto get rid of our rhubarb to a local veg in a box scheme, getting other stuff in return.
I would be happy to give them away, the problem with the mini cucumbers is they get too big quite fast, hence the compost heap. I think I just totally misjudged it this year. After last year’s veg washout I over compensated and raised too many plants. I used the same seed as last year too.. it must be the weather, what a difference a bit of sunshine makes.
Put a couple of the cucumbers down for little Mrs Mouse, I’m sure Mike won’t mind sharing 🙂
They are eating the ones in the compost heap! And the potatoes in the ground too, for that matter. Little b*ggers they are.
Awww – a salad loving mouse how sweet. I have only had a slug lovingly curled round one of my tomatoes and they have made a mess of the outdoor cukes too. Scarper indeed.
Something is nibbling my outdoor cukes too. I suspect mice. But I think we may now have a rabbit – whole lettuce heads snapped off. Or the deer is back. Some days I really just want to give up!!
I most definitely would not have stood there taking a photo – unless I had a very strong zoom lens.
Not so long ago I’d have agreed… but thankfully they do run away if you approach them, or say “Boo”!
Lovely, it obviously knew you had plenty to spare!
I just hope they don’t get the taste for tomatoes and come back for the rest!
Great shots of the mouse – well and truly caught in the act. Your veg looks absolutely superb. Julie x
One cheeky mouse. Thanks Julie. Less success outside the greenhouse.
’tis a pity it doesn’t want to eat the cucumbers too!!!
It’s had some of those too, or its mates have. I’m hoping I’ve thwarted them by training the cucumbers along the roof though. I defy any mouse to get them up there!
What a healthy little mouse !
Grrrrr!!
Awww, I think my love of furry creatures far outweighs my love of veg. How did you manage those pictures? Fantastic.
Literally, a stake out. Saw tomatoes on ground, set up camera with long wire. I thought we’d have to wait an age but first mouse was there in seconds.. the timing was just jammy.
Cute mouse and after all it’s mouse sized tomato 😉
We had one which came in and ate the chocolate and the chocolate off the biccies. It took us 3 goes to release it far enough away so that it didn’t come back! [used humane trap]
Wish you could lob me some cucumbers–I love them.
Now a chocolate eating mouse is not playing fair. But was it the same one coming back? We’ve used humane traps too and I’ve always wondered about that. Threatened to use spray paint on bum to be sure..
How many tomatoes does a mouse have to eat to eat for its five a day?
Grrrrr!!
Sungold are wonderful aren’t they. I’ve got quite a few at the moment, but not a glut yet! Have you thought about drying them in a low oven? I’ve heard that is nice, and I might try it I think. A shame you have too many cucumbers. I have a few too many crustal lemon cucumbers this year. There is a place at the allotments for leaving excess produce, so a few might end up there I think. The guinea pigs are also doing their best to eat them as well.
That’s what I need… guinea pigs!!
Voles and mice I kind of like
They remind me of Beatrix potter
I used to have a vole. It lived under a paving slab in a previous garden. It didn’t eat my tomatoes either.
How about juicing these vegetables together? I’m sure once juiced you could can the juice then add it to soups and etc. later in the year?
I don’t have a juicer. Perhaps now is the time!
It isn’t a dormouse is it, it has the eyes and ears, but that could just be the pic.xxxx
I’ve looked up pictures of dormice. They seem to be rounder in the face than this one, Mike even thought it might be a shrew because the nose is quite long.
Although it would be nice to think so, aren’t they endangered? We have loads!
I love that you staked out the mouse! And have you tried cooking the cucumbers – we sauté them in butter with lots of salt and they taste amazing – great with fish or with warmed chick peas, tomatoes and spring onions.
I could try that. I quite like cooked tomatoes, just not raw. It’s the texture I think.
We have a zillion tomatoes and no cucumbers, the deer got in and ate the beans, and how many rabbits would you like….they breed like, er, r……….s! Try Clarissa Dickson-Wright’s tomato sauce/ soup recipe, it’s mouthwatering and delicious. My Sony camera just collapsed yesterday so I’m in the market for a new one, your photos are first class so may one ask what’s the camera,please.
pats x.
Thanks Pats. It’s a Nikon D80, but by no means the current model!
Our cucumbers are outdoor “Marketmore”, three plants kindly donated by a neighbour, and they have been prolific. I had ideas on pickling some, but haven’t been organised enough. I’ve been putting our overgrown courgettes in a builders basket on the railings at the front of the house for people to help themselves. I am so curious to know what has been made from them and still hope for a note through the door with some recipes!
You never know, you came up trumps last time!
Our resident rodents steal the hazelnuts we put out for the Red Squirrels, I regularly find caches of empty shells, but I’ve never seen them steal tomatoes. There again, we do have traps in the greenhouse and occasionally nab a potential culprit. The mouse population here used to annoy me but now I just think of them as owl food . . .
Grew Zeina a few years back, best cucumbers I’ve ever produced and yes, they are more than a little prolific :}
I had high hopes for Zeina, but Mike felt they were only ‘OK’ taste wise. Not sure where I’ve gone wrong, they are growing in a brand new gro-bag so I’d be surprised if it’s the soil. Perhaps I have just let them grow too big.
Cucumbers…..mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! I’m off on one now.
I remember your fondness for cucumbers. If only we lived closer…
Your mouse has good taste; the tomatoes look delicious. I do sympathise as we had the mouse invasion in the greenhouse last year. None here this year, fortunately.
Was there anything you did to deter them? Any ideas welcome!!
How about leaving some chili peppers out with a few strategically placed tomatoes? And I love Ali’s idea of cooking cucumber and shall be giving that a go.
You have a wicked streak Mise. 😉
Great pictures of the mouse it looked as if it was enjoying it’s feast. I would have run away if I had seen it!
Sarah x
I have to say they are quite cute. I just wish they weren’t here!
He is a little cutie even though he is unwelcome. We used to have to field mice nesting in our shed. We noticed them in the garden but next doors cats got them… It was only later we found their nest of leaves in the shed.
Answer is!! Get a cat 😉
Oh no! Poor mices.
Wow, beautiful veggies. Those cucumbers are perfect.
Thanks Heda. I found a baby frog around the bottom of the cucumbers this morning. Crikey, the wildlife is moving in!
How long did you have to stand by with camera poised before he popped through the hole for a photo session? He looks quite pleased with himself to have found such a wonderful source of food:)
Would you believe, about 30 seconds?
Jammy. Either that or our mouse wants to be a celebrity.
We have tons of cucumbers too, and tomatoes and courgettes and beans…. I have a really good pickle recipe if you want it. I am impressed that you have the nerve to put things on the compost heap. My great downfall is that I am always feeling I must do something with the damn stuff. Not sure this comment is conveying the true delights of the simple life!
I know Elizabeth, I feel really guilty about missing stuff that I could be using and only compost when something is truly past it. Believe me, the cucumbers were! Next year I must get much more into successional growing. Why does everything seem to be ready at the same time??
Naughty little thing!!! Our cats had a mouse in the kitchen last night, just as we were falling asleep. I just pretended I wasn’t hearing anything…
Good move.. hopefully they’d removed all evidence by morning!
I’m sorry but he really is very cute … brilliantly caught on camera.
I shall still block up his hole.. 😉
🙂
😉
The Gardener wants to know which lens?
All our photos are taken with a Nikon 18-200mm DX zoom lens. Mike presses lots of buttons, I use point and shoot.