Birds are my latest garden vice. They pecked the heck out of every single summer pepper and tomato and are currently doing a number on my winter squash and melons. I pushed through the sweltering heat last month to get my beans and cucumbers in early. Only to have the menaces pluck the seedlings out of the ground. Every. Last. One. I wish they would fly South for the winter!!
There is so much hope in planting a seed and seeing it sprout and eventually fruit and ripen. There is great disappointment when that hope is snatched from under your nose time and time again. I’ve had lots of squirrel trouble in the past especially in the winter seasons. When worse comes to worse, I pull out the netting and drape it over the most sought after plants. It is not fool proof, often the squirrels still find a way in, the netting is a pain to work with, it gets caught on things and the plants get tangled and damaged, then there is the constant fidgeting with it to keep it in place. It is surely a subpar deterrent.
So my husband and I discussed the reoccurring problem and before building a complete enclosure, we are trying out a low scale version. Netting secured to a simple PVC frame. They are light and pretty manageable; fit perfectly over half of a soil bed (10 feet) and so far, have kept pests out of the picture well enough to get some good seedlings going.
I am really happy with these simple structures. My plants are looking great, compost is amazing. They are easy to tilt up on one side to weed and harvest and keep plants from growing out into the aisles. We had a tornado last month and our neighbor’s gazebo landed in our garden. These PVC frames kept many plants from being crushed!
I am still brainstorming however, since this won’t protect any of my vertical growing plants and I would like to eat my tomatoes myself, thank you very much.
P.S. Anybody know how to get rid of a peacock? This guy has been hanging around for breakfast, lunch and dinner…
You have squirrels in Mesa? Or am I remembering wrong? I'm loving how random the stray peacock in your garden is. All I have is sparrows and those ugly brown/black birds.
ReplyDeleteYes. I have had lots of problems in the past; http://bagleyrecipeforlove.blogspot.com/2010/02/loathe.html
ReplyDeleteThe peacock got loose from a distant neighbor during the storm and they can't catch it. We are plotting for a new twist on thanksgiving dinner.
How awful to do all that awesome work and have birds mess w/your stuff! :( Unfortunately, I think that we are the south that they fly to for the winter. (Not just the snow birds. Lol!) The peacock seems completely random...aren't they noisy? Can animal control get him?
ReplyDeleteOn an unrelated note, we are starting the GAPS diet in a couple days, and I've enjoyed reading your posts about your experience. :-)
yeah, I have a feeling the birds will be sticking around :(
ReplyDeleteThis one is not noisy, I have thought about animal control, but he is in no way contained. I would call and by the time they get here I would have no idea where he went.
I am so excited for you and your GAPS journey! I can attest that it is a bumpy ride, but once you work out the kinks it is pretty simple and amazing to witness the healing, some that you never even knew needed to be done.
Love to hear about your results
I love the net enclosure. With chickens now, I need an idea for my lettuce. I built a fence but one still gets in. I haven't even planted yet because of her. I think I will copy you!
ReplyDeleteAaaaaaaaw! Do you know how lucky you are to have a peacock in your garden???? He's soooo cute! I'd give anything! I live in Edmonton, one of the ugliest cities in the world, there's no way to even have a garden, nothing grows here it's too cold, let alone the fact that real estate is so expensive, it's unaffordable for most people to have land. Anyway, it would absolutely make my day if I had a peacock in my backyard!
ReplyDeleteOne of your neighbors may be missing their peacock. I would put up a "found" sign. If that doesn't get a response, try craigslist. Peacock chicks sell for $50 each, last time I checked. I imagine an adult would go for more. If you want to get rid of it, that is. I could put him in my chicken pen...! :-)
ReplyDeleteAgain, not sure how to sell it if I can't catch it. You are welcome to try to come and chase it down, but even the owners have given up on him.
ReplyDeleteIn Fl peacocks are no longer cute.
ReplyDeleteI paid $1,000. to replace the screen over my pool cage that they shredded with their claws. It is attached to my house so it necessary for survival as I don't use air conditioning. Their claws are the size of my hand. There are seven of them this year.I would gladly shoot them to stop the massave dammage they are doing to my house,car and yard, but live too close to neighbors who are feeding them.
I cut dowm a large tree they were roosting in but they mooved to another and spend much time on my roof.
They are as big as my dog and if it came to a fight the peacocks would win.
There are other groups in this area.
They are invasive and pushing native birds out.