Evening all,
Many of my fellow allotment holders have put plastic bottles on top of their sticks...presumably to prevent eyes/other body parts getting poked.
I think it makes the allotment look a bit 'scrappy'. Does anyone have ideas for alternatives?
Cheers TD :)
Take the sticks out ;D
I know some use the plastic balls that you get in childrens play area and tennis balls could be used.
Neil
i know what you mean! its not so bad if you use clear bottles of a similar size,but thats being waaayyy too fussy,some folks use tennis balls,or other kind of sports ball.i dont use either,all our canes are tall enough to avoid the eyes
cheers neil
You can actually buy caps for canes... but they are expensive for what they are..
:-\
The plastic bottles rattle in the wind which helps keep the pigeons away.
Quote from: saddad on January 25, 2009, 20:55:41
You can actually buy caps for canes... but they are expensive for what they are..
:-\
I get mine from the craft fair which features at Capel Manor about three times a year. The bloke turns wood on a very simple lathe (sorry I don't know if that's the right terminology) and makes these lovely little wooden acorn cane toppers. Bought some more a few months ago at 60p each and they last years. :)
G x
THANKS EVERYONE...PIGEON SCARING DEFINITELY A FACTOR AND AN ARGUMENT FOR THE UGLY PLASTIC BOTTLES...BUT THERE MUST BE SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S CHEAP...ARE BALLS THE BEST/MOST AVAILAABLE?
very kind tom, ta TD
save your wine corks and stick then on top..thats what i tell the wife im buying wine for??
Great idea Steve! ::)
Not being totally anal, I use beer cans on the top of mine - last forever when alluminium, rattle in the wind and the tight top holds them in place so no danger of them blowing away. I use plastic drinks bottles as untidy cloches.
Nobody using the small tonic cans then? ;D
one of the 'old boys' on a plot near mine uses 'steradent' tubes!! ;D ;D
Quote from: STEVEB on January 25, 2009, 21:38:32
save your wine corks and stick then on top..thats what i tell the wife im buying wine for??
brilliant idea steve,why i didnt think of that one.......
QuoteThe plastic bottles rattle in the wind which helps keep the pigeons away.
Dream on. Where does that idea come from? My pigeons refuse to budge until the smud missiles are launched.
I went for for the girly solution for a visual reminder cos I grow stuff in the garden & I wanted it to look pretty, last year :-[ I bought a bag of 100 different coloured elasticated fuzzy bands, the sort little girls have their hair braided with? and these got twined round the cane tops. They're good also cos you can tie two canes together with one of them. Bought them at the Pound shop.
Quote from: asbean on January 25, 2009, 20:56:53
The plastic bottles rattle in the wind which helps keep the pigeons away.
Thatas what I was going to say!
I think the eclectic-ness (is that a word???) of allotments is half of the fun!
I think I would choose a better option for my back garden!
Louise
OH has just read this and reminded me that one of our plot holders uses Yakult bottles.... :-\
I use dead snails..........they work a treat and I hope it acts as a warning to the all the others......... ;D
(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l47/dlp133/close%20up%20veg%20or%20fruit/latejune2007023-1.jpg)
my allotment has got bright coloured balls on the top of the canes. i found a load from my sons old ball pool and have cut a slit in them and stuck them on top.
think it look better then the bottles but the birds like my plot more then my neighbours, lol
Quote from: Deb P on January 26, 2009, 08:46:33
I use dead snails..........they work a treat and I hope it acts as a warning to the all the others......... ;D
This made me laugh - thanks
I always wondered what the point of snails was - now I know!
1066
We use loads of different sized bottles. 1 litre tonic bottles wih the bottom cut of for sweetcorn.Fruit shoot bottles and yakult bottles to put on top of the canes both to stop the canes from piercing the netting and more importantly to stop anyone from getting hurt.
Quote from: spudsmummy on January 26, 2009, 09:05:16
my allotment has got bright coloured balls on the top of the canes. i found a load from my sons old ball pool and have cut a slit in them and stuck them on top.
think it look better then the bottles but the birds like my plot more then my neighbours, lol
That's because the bottles rattle on the canes and make a noise!
I had a load of used tennis balls. Could probably pick them up for nothing from a local club.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=Garden+Cane+Caps ;D
I'm a plassy bottle user, and yes, it does look...'individual', but my grandad had a very nasty accident with a bamboo in they eye, and I have a scar on my cheek from doing the same, so I don't care - it is an allotment and to be honest, the sheds look worse than my bottle toppers. And I like to think I am doing a little bit of recycling, and some of the other plot holders are now doing the same with the bottles. They hold the netting up nicely over the brassicas. I keep meaning to look out for those sacks of ball pit plastic balls at the carbooty, but never see any.
I love the acorn shaped ones they work out expensive if you need a lot. Instead, I use wine corks (mostly Aussie of course!) as I have a plentiful supply .... hmmm, what does that tell you??!!
I save up a tupperware container full and then get OH to drill cane sized holes in the top on his drill press. He says the 'plastic' ones are the easiest to drill, but this in no way influences my buying - that's usually down to what's on offer at the supermarket.
The corks work well and don't come loose once jammed onto a cane. They have saved me getting a nasty poke in the eye on more than one occasion.... so cheers! ;D
its not about looks but about keeping off the pigeons and it seems to work too. I too use the actimel bottles or fruit shoot bottles in the lean to to save my eyes.
I'm with EJ and ark at Georgie "craft fair", believe me I've seen her at jumble sales and car boots, "craft fair" she does make me laugh. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D :-*
Thanks for all the ideas and entertainment you lot. :-*TD
Defo going to buy those caps. I use bottles at the mo but they can look scrappy and I am fed up with finding plastic everywhere.. check out one of my neighbouring plots!
So thats where bottles go to die !!!! :P
Quote from: Eristic on January 25, 2009, 22:08:56
QuoteThe plastic bottles rattle in the wind which helps keep the pigeons away.
Dream on. Where does that idea come from? My pigeons refuse to budge until the smud missiles are launched.
my pigeons too they are a pest, i use wind chimes all over the place and some bottles on canes keeps the moles out too they dont like the noise they make under ground, in fact the field next to us has oil seed rape and the farmer has a gas banger in the field,i walked by yesterday and to my surprise 2 pigeons sat on the barrel of the gun while it went of!!
brilliant idea redclanger i just threw 3 sackfulls away that bloke before me left in shed .Looks like this weekends job is replacing them ,we also have 4 foxes that are our birdscarers and a dummies head but that looks like one of the old boys has keeled over so it might have to go .Kiddies windmills are also a good bird scarer .
quite often the farmer with the 'gas banger' is not trying to scare birds away, more likely trying to get them used to the bangs! then when the farmer goes shooting, they don't all flock off at the first shot. ;)
I use bottles from fruit-shoots, shower-gel, washing liquid - just about any of the small ones. They seem to help a little to keeping birds away with the rattling. When not in use mine are in a steel mesh container so they do not blow all over the place.