that time of year again and the birds are all watching me plant and
deciding who eats what!,what methods have you all found the most
effective,there seems to be no end of clever looking devices,humming
tape,inflatable birds of prey but do they work?,all input most
welcome,thank you all!

On 30/04/2010 19:14, bob wrote:
that time of year again and the birds are all watching me plant and
deciding who eats what!,what methods have you all found the most
effective,there seems to be no end of clever looking devices,humming
tape,inflatable birds of prey but do they work?,all input most
welcome,thank you all!

The most effective thing I found was to simply throw a net over the veg.
I just leave it resting lose on the top of brassicas with the edges
weighted down with a few rocks. I remove the net when then plants are a
bit more mature and less of a tasty morsel. Pigeons can strip a row of
young cabbage plants in a single sitting.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
r...
On 30/04/2010 19:14, bob wrote:
that time of year again and the birds are all watching me plant and
deciding who eats what!,what methods have you all found the most
effective,there seems to be no end of clever looking devices,humming
tape,inflatable birds of prey but do they work?,all input most
welcome,thank you all!

The most effective thing I found was to simply throw a net over the veg. I
just leave it resting lose on the top of brassicas with the edges weighted
down with a few rocks. I remove the net when then plants are a bit more
mature and less of a tasty morsel. Pigeons can strip a row of young
cabbage plants in a single sitting.

Last year the damned things stipped the sprouts even though they were
'mature', I did stop them doing any more damage by putting some net over
them, but they had done so much damage that we got very little from them, so
any other form of deterent will be most welcome.

Alan




--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

"bob" wrote...
that time of year again and the birds are all watching me plant and
deciding who eats what!,what methods have you all found the most
effective,there seems to be no end of clever looking devices,humming
tape,inflatable birds of prey but do they work?,all input most
welcome,thank you all!

We bought a large fruit cage to cover our brassica bed, it's 6m x 6m, and we
move it every year in accordance with our 4 year crop rotation. Good
headroom so we can weed and look after the plants without having to
constantly take the net off and put it back again, luxury.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

On 30 Apr, 22:18, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"bob" *wrote...
that time of year again and the birds are all watching me plant and
deciding who eats what!,what methods have you all found the most
effective,there seems to be no end of clever looking devices,humming
tape,inflatable birds of prey but do they work?,all input most
welcome,thank you all!

We bought a large fruit cage to cover our brassica bed, it's 6m x 6m, and we
move it every year in accordance with our 4 year crop rotation. Good
headroom so we can weed and look after the plants without having to
constantly take the net off and put it back again, luxury.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

I wish that birds were our only problem.
Here we are also plagued by Rabbits, their friends the Foxes and
Badgers as well as birds, so I am in the throws of building a Growing
cage 22m x about 7m, 7ft or so tall,
This will have 90cm rabbit netting around the base and bird netting
over it., trhen just maby we can get some veg.
The badgers have destroyed sweetcorn, carrots and even managed to
totaly remove Jerusalem artichokes.
Something had my grapes last year, the first ones since planting, and
it wasn't wasps.My late neighbour kept Fan tails which since his death
his wife has retained but they have crossed with wood pigeons and
devour any thing in the cabbage family.
David Hill