"shazzbat" wrote after

"Sue" wrote in reply to"Cat(h)" who replied to Rhiannon Macfie Miller who
asked
Just once, could I have one year growing broccoli without the pigeons
getting to it at some stage?

Does anyone have a falcon I could borrow?

No falcon here, but Tom Jones' greatest hits, dangling in CD form from
a few bamboo canes strategically placed over the seedlings did the
trick for my brussels sprouts last year.

Some gardeners swear by plastic carrier bags fixed to stakes so
they billow and rustle in the wind, although I haven't tried that, and
they don't look exactly picturesque. I have wondered about getting an
air gun but I'm too much of softie to use it. A net held clear of the
plants with some sort of frame or cage works best, imo.

I use sticks much longer than necessary to tie the plants, and I tie some
lengths of old video tape to the tops of them, this helps, and is slightly
less unsightly than the plastic bags method.

Yes, old video tape "flags" waving, rustling and glittering in the wind
together with Cd's spinning and flashing hanging off tall angled poles (like
fishing rods) worked Ok for us for years.
Now we have a large 6m x6m fruit cage for all our brassicas, only took the
two of us a morning to dismantle and re-erect over this years cabbage patch
and we can walk in it without bending, weed and tend our plants without
struggling with nets etc. Worth every penny.

--
Regards
Bob H
17mls W. of London.UK