@pansyface embracing wildlife friendly gardens is one thing. Standing by smiling while the b*ggers eat my plants is another altogether. I will happily encourage all the flutterbys and bees, along with other useful insects, but draw the line when slugs munch my hostas.
Vegetarians, rowlandscastle444, and all but in name Buddhists, no chance.
I suppose, we are all told to embrace wildlife friendly gardening. But then along comes the wildlife. And it’s not welcome.
I’m afraid, as with any relationship, we must learn to love the warts just as much as the dimples.
I suppose the only solution is to put in cages, all the plants that the rabbit is likely to eat.
I'll admit that for years, I've avoided caging or netting the soft fruit, because I hate to think of the birds getting tangled up, or stuck. Even Monty Don recommended covering the blackcurrants on this week's episode of GW, so as to avoid losing them to pigeons. Last year we lost the lot, and I still baulk at the thought of seeing sparrows caught up. But seeing the pigeons attempting to decimate my black and redcurrant bushes, I'm seriously considering the netting option.
We leave so many berries for the birds, I would like to have a decent soft fruit crop this year. Last year we had some raspberries, and a few redcurrants and gooseberries. Nothing else.
@steveTu even before Covid many youngsters were unable to do even basic calculations without the use of a calculator so I'm sure they love just being able use us a bit of plastic to pay for things. I was in our local Co-op pre-Covid and the items came to (say) £5.12. I handed over a £10 note and 12 pence in change. The young person on the till looked blank and asked me what the 12p was for. I said it's so you can give me a fiver in change. The blank look never changed and it was only the intervention of a 'more mature' member of staff which prevented the 12p being handed back, followed by a load of coins.
I've had that happen recently. A look off the 18 year old cashier like I was stupid, and a "and here's your 30p back." 🤦♀️
Twelve cans of cat food at 50p or whatever it was in the olden days. Total was obviously wrong. The manager was called and apologised saying that the cashier had rung up 50 cans at 12p. 🙄
@pansyface@rowlandscastle444 you construct a proper fruit cage with wooden supports and cross bars you can stretch and staple netting across it taut enough not to catch birds' feet. Don't forget to leave a flap attached by hooks at one end so you can get in and pick the fruit.
OH is so far resisting my urge to build a huge cage over our large fig tree so we can get the figs instead of the bloody starlings.
At the mo we leave the boring bland cherries and Mirabelle plums planted by previous owners for the birds and, so far, they leave us the tayberries, raspberries and currants but we've had to net the sides of those beds since we adopted hens. We also net veggies against hen-pecking and unwanted caterpillars and that's just net over hoops. No avian casualties so far.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Twelve cans of cat food at 50p or whatever it was in the olden days. Total was obviously wrong. The manager was called and apologised saying that the cashier had rung up 50 cans at 12p. 🙄
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I'll admit that for years, I've avoided caging or netting the soft fruit, because I hate to think of the birds getting tangled up, or stuck. Even Monty Don recommended covering the blackcurrants on this week's episode of GW, so as to avoid losing them to pigeons. Last year we lost the lot, and I still baulk at the thought of seeing sparrows caught up.
But seeing the pigeons attempting to decimate my black and redcurrant bushes, I'm seriously considering the netting option.
We leave so many berries for the birds, I would like to have a decent soft fruit crop this year. Last year we had some raspberries, and a few redcurrants and gooseberries. Nothing else.
OH is so far resisting my urge to build a huge cage over our large fig tree so we can get the figs instead of the bloody starlings.
At the mo we leave the boring bland cherries and Mirabelle plums planted by previous owners for the birds and, so far, they leave us the tayberries, raspberries and currants but we've had to net the sides of those beds since we adopted hens. We also net veggies against hen-pecking and unwanted caterpillars and that's just net over hoops. No avian casualties so far.
What a stupid thing to do
I put some in the bird dishes and they get left..