I planted out some young cauliflowers and the blooming (sorry for the pun :D) pigeons ate the d**n things. My fault I should have netted them :-\ O well this calls for a take two me thinks :D And Nets this time!
Dont worry i planted out some Red Baron onion sets last week (bit late i know) and by the time id gone home to get my netting to cover them with next doors escapee chickens had got into my plot and pulled up the lot, and they had had a dust bath in my newly planted carrot rows. >:(
Sorry to hear about your carrots and onions. Birds do like to pull up onion sets because they think the tops look like ideal nesting material until they pull them up and find that they are onion sets. I wish birds could read then you could put up a sign saying that onion sets lie here and are not to be touched. And for your carrots I think it may be another case of carrot bed take 2.
PS. As stated in my other thread I have not started to plant my sets yet due to the weather and a bit of ill health. So I am determined this week to get the blitters put in! And hope it is not to late!
i'll sent my cat over
just found the remains of a pigon in my garden :o
ewwwwwwwuuuuuuuu not nice sight
Mags
I know what a dead bird looks like after a few weeks. I found a dead starling in my greenhouse under the bench. It was not the best thing to find before you start to munch on a meat and potatoe pie.
Please dont get me wrong I love birds and pigeons because I am an avid birdwatcher. I will infuture protect my crops with netting :)
I like birds too , wish my cat didn't :(
Netting is something I have to buy as well so far my onions have been left alone .
Mags
I've used CDs and buzz wire bird tape around the onion and shallot beds, and so far only one onion had been pulled up. Not bad for 400 sets.
Me too with the CDs -my onions were denuded but I put up some CDs on string and it stopped. Funny thing is they had to walk/fly past the garlic to get at the onions, and the garlic was left alone ???
Jeremy
"the garlic was left alone "
Vampire Pigeons? ;D
Hahahahah Doris ! ;D
Similar thing happened to me last year. I naively left my cabbagelings uncovered and the pidgeons had a great feast off them, not one was left. I had to go out and buy some plants and start all over again, but covered them with netting this time. :) Have learnt my lesson. Thing I couldn't understand was why did my lottie neighbour 4 plots up have superb unprotected cabbages and they never touched hers? ??? busy_lizzie
Last year we covered our cabbages with a goal post net and the bloody pidgies got through when we turned our backs. This year we have got them wired to the mains.
(only joking - but we won;'t make that mistake twice !!)
A good idea with the goal post net the only thing is that the netting may be spaced to wide appart so the pigeons could get through. But good thinking I like that Idea :)
My first year I lost my first lot of cabbages to pigeons so I went to plan 'B'....netting
The not so little overfed blighters found a small hole at the base of the netting and got in...end of cabbages yet again.
My allotment neighbour was having the same problem but I did smile when I discovered him mending his nets one morning ...pigeon had got through a hole but Mr Fox spotted him...he went 'through' the netting to get at the pigeon... one very dead pigeon
Moral of story is to peg the net down securely...then wire to the mains (only joking)
Suggestion.... competition for the site with the fatest pigeons....I think we have a great chance of winning...our pigeons are so well fed they can hardly fly
Derek
*sings* catch the Pigeon, catch the pigeon...............................Wacky races!
Yes I must admit Pigeons are intelegent birds when it comes to food. I will set them a inteligence test to see if they can penatrate me net fortress I am going to construct.