There were carrot tops and bits of carrot on the doormat when we got to the shed. That led to the discovery that a few carrots were missing and others had been chomped but ultimately left. I found some fresh rat droppings round the back of the shed, so I’ve put the bait station out again, as well as chucking a couple of loose ones down the side of the shed.

I harvested ones that had enough untouched to be trimmed and pulled up a few more too. Hopefully the rat will choose the poison over a carrot in the next week or so. It looked like there was an indentation in the hedgehog house, so I’m hoping that wasn’t the rat.

Mum and I took down the rest of the everlasting peas and I did some more autumn trimming. A lot of the perennials are being left until spring though, which is good for wildlife, but still feels very untidy to me.

After lunch I cut down all the cosmos. They were still flowering an amount, but were in my way with all their mad leaning, and I want to keep the tidying going. They have super fibrous roots which were in danger of taking all the compost with them, so I cut them, making a much smaller root ball. Hopefully what I’ve left behind in the bed will break down over the winter.