I want to break free ...........

[MrsKP]

in a belt and braces approach, virtually everything i have in the garden is under some sort of protection against the various thingies that want to eat all my crops before me.

Trouble is  things are starting to grow too big, broadies have now reached the top of their cage and the onions are reaching for the sky.

bearing in mind that the garden is currently doubling up as an avery .... can i safely uncover the onions or will they have all disappeared by the time i get back from work.

Cheers as always.

[MrsKP]

[Larkspur]

Hi, now they are growing well the onions should be fine to be set free. ;)

[MrsKP]

thanks larkspur.  i will have an unleashing ceremony in about 5 mins.

listen for the 21 gun salute.

;D

[Roy Bham UK]

 ??? Oh dear, I haven't done anything to protect my hunions, didn't know I had to, ??? they all appear ok tho. ;)

[amphibian]

??? Oh dear, I haven't done anything to protect my hunions, didn't know I had to, ??? they all appear ok tho. ;)

Birds sometimes pull up newly planted sets, and phesants will eat onions, but generally they are fine without protection once established.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I put an inch of mulch over the sets. That seems to be all they need.

[MrsKP]

Can I use grass clippings ? (none seem to have disappeared today and I don't know of any pheasants in the locality although a couple of the wood pigeons could easily be mistaken for them, they're that large)  :o

I'm still a bit nervous about removing the netting from the carrot/onion bath although it should be high and smelly enough for the beastie flies not to bother.  The poor old onions do look a bit squished though.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Fresh grass cuttings (not slimy black stodge) is always my preference for anything like that, followed by autumn leaves in various stages of decay.

[MrsKP]

as the onions are .... erm .... quite close to each other .... do i leave a hole round each set or can i just cover everything in site.

might just go and cut the grass tomorrow  :o

[Robert_Brenchley]

Sling it all over everything; as long as you don't dump a load in one place it won't do any harm. I've just been throwing barrowloads all over my spuds.

[Mrs Ava]

Don't worry Roy, I don't protect my onions at all and apart from a few getting oiked out by the birdies when I first set them, they grow happily undisturbed.  Now everything else on the plot gets munched, chewed, pooped on, bent, knocked about, but my hunions, noone wants them!

[MrsKP]

thanks everyone, will give it a bash tomorrow, gonna brave de-netting the bath too.  it will be nice to see some green in the garden rather than just white tents all over the place.

;D

[saddad]

If you have trouble with birds pulling out sets, start them off in cells and transplant... they don't really go for the green shoots just the bit of old brown foliage that sticks out of the soil...
:)