Save Your Seedlings From The Birds

birdsticks protect this love lies bleeding seedling

I know its spring when divots appear in my vegie patch, and mulch is flung all over. Starlings and Blackbirds are in heaven here with plenty of nest making goodness and a bounty of worms for dinner. It’s important work keeping them at bay, otherwise seeds and seedlings don’t stand a chance.

mulched
Stalky, chunky mulch like borage, parsley, kale is alot less likely to be flung about

Birdnet is your best bet (my garden looks like it’s getting married with all the white net about), but it’s not always practical. When stakes/ trellises are involved it becomes complicated to drape birdnet, so instead I save the day with a combination of birdsticks (small sticks pushed in the ground around the seedling) and bulky, stalky, un-bird-friendly mulch.

Lay shadecloth or some such cover over newly sown seed and retain as many older crops as you can to keep a living mulch going. Bear with our friends the birds – this fervent activity has its season and will soon abate.