Kitchen Garden Forum

I’ve just been out to my plot and seen the pigeons have completely destroyed my broccoli, spring cabbage & cavolo nero. Only ribs of leaves left. They weren’t netted which was probably a mistake (every day is a school day), but I’m just wondering if I net them now will they recover at all, or should I just consign them to the compost heap now and move on…

You might as well leave them in and see if they recover before you need the ground for something else. Not sure if they behave the same everywhere but we get plenty of pigeons and doves in the garden and they don't attack the brassicas which are not netted overhead at this time of year (they have butterfly net over them in Summer and Autumn) but a metre high windbreak round them. I think they like a clear take off so this discourages them.

With the broccoli & kale it will depend on whether the birds got the growing tip. Don't worry about every day being a school day, it continues to do so forever when you grow. Maybe netting for Valentine's Day - much more romantic than imported roses & will last way longer & you can grow your own beautiful roses - or a rose bush ?

I,d let them try and regenerate if you have some cover for them but in my experience pigeons are pretty relentless if they're aware of a food source, especially as this is the hungry season and once one finds a snack they soon bring in all their mates!

I,ve risked coverless in the past but we have too many local pigeons with long memories to risk it going forward,

Your maybe interested in an experiment we are doing on farm with Oil Seed Rape.We have a 10 acre field and half was grazed down by sheep and the other half untouched and we will measure what the difference is at harvest time. At present my unterstanding is that the grazed portion is or has nearly caught up on the untouched portion. Time will tell I suppose.

That will be interesting to know the outcome, Johnboy.
They have been doing the same sort of thing around here but, with Winter Wheat….they say it saves one lot of Fertiliser being applied, and the tonnage per acre is up a little too…think this will be happening more with the sky high price of fertiliser!

Pigeons like rats, they damage my garden too, I use traps like for mice It scares them off enough.