Bird Netting EVERYWHERE: Why and How
by Rachel Tayse • May 18, 2010 • Eco-friendly, Gardening & Pets, What's Growing • 6 Comments
Just after the second set of pea leaves appeared, birds started eating them. I blame sparrows, the possibly invasive species that seem to swarm our neighborhood in the spring.
So, bird netting is on the peas.
Last year we lost strawberries to the squirrels. Even with Alex’s not exactly legit squirrel hunting, they still come around.
Bird netting is on the strawberries.
Then I noticed that despite plenty of rain and sun the lettuce just never seemed to grow.
Five days of bird netting and the leaves are rounded and growing. Same with the endive.
As much as I hate covering everything in little bits of plastic, I raise plants for me! Go away birds and squirrels!!
If you struggle with critters eating your plants, netting might be the answer:
- Purchase an appropriate quantity of netting. I have two 14×14 foot packs I purchased from the local nursery for about $6 each.
- While it is still carefully folded, cut to the length of your garden bed.
- Spread each piece gently over top of the crop you are protecting. It doesn’t have to be perfectly aligned. If your area is particularly windy, use several small sticks to secure the corners.
- When plants have been established, you can try removing the netting. Gently peel it away from the plants, unwinding tendrils if they have grown through the netting.
- Fold your netting to reuse next year. It never seems to pack down to the size it was when I purchased, so we keep a large grocery bag filled with folded up pieces of netting.
- Enjoy your peas/berries/lettuces munch free!
I’ve been so busy battling the groundhog that I never thought of the birds! He comes right up to my back door to eat the lettuce leaves; he devours all but the stems. I’m doing the nice thing (using ammonia to keep him away; critters hate that smell) and I’ve put cayenne pepper on the beds. But if he still thinks my garden is for him after these measures, I may have to use something a little more lethal.
Groundhogs can be a real pain. We’ve never had one here (maybe because of the loud dogs?) and if we did I have a feeling Alex would hunt and kill it. He has no love for rodents, and frankly neither do I.
Oh, bird netting. So good at what it does … so frustrating to handle! I find working with bird netting feels like I’m putting on pantyhose. With super glue on my hands.
.-= Emily on the Southern Prairie´s last blog ..Life with a newborn: 10 things I didn’t expect =-.
Yes, it is hard to handle! Folding it up is no fun either. But, as you said, it does its job.
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