Kitchen Garden Forum

I've been spending the last few months clearing my new allotment which was neglected by the previous tenant. The weather has been too bad to do much recently but I have a bed ready for my garlic which I started in cell trays at home. I understand that pigeons are a problem on our site. I have an environmesh, my question is.
Will it be ok to lay environmesh over the garlic? The plants are about 200 mm tall, will the mesh be ok or will it flatten them.

Hello Tyke57, welcome to the forum. In all honesty, in over 27 years of growing garlic, I've never had to cover them with anything. Brassicas on the otherhand, always! Save your mesh for those, and carrots (carrot fly) & leeks (leek moth)too.

A warm welcome to the forum, Tyke57...

I agree with with Retropants, never had any trouble with pigeons and Garlic. You are meant to be able to just lay Enviromesh over plants but, it always seems to have less give in it than fleece, so I have never used it like that...I have some frames that I cover, so it keeps the Enviromesh off the plants. I also think it would be a right devil of a job to stop it blowing about at the moment, with all these winds....just my thoughts...

I use scaffolding netting, lot cheaper.

I always support the netting with various poles,we have a problem with pigeons and pheasants pulling up garlic and onions the tend to leave them once they have pulled them I just push them in again

Welcome Tyke57!

Mesh is quite expensive so save it for the real problem critters. I do through cover mine with a bit of fleece when first put in as birds are interested in having a look to see if edible and will just pull them up as inquisitive & just toss them as not edible & if you can't get down they could get frosted. Yours will already be rooted so won't need too much time to establish & remain firm in the ground so they won't be very interested at all.

Hello Tyke57, I do cover my garlic and shallots with a micro mesh tunnel when I first plant them outside. They have been growing in the unheated greenhouse since October but will be going outside very soon, weather permitting. I only use the mesh until they have 'found their feet'. Our nuisance birds are mainly house sparrows which pull up newly planted things just for the fun of it ......

Thanks for all your advice, much appreciated.