Kitchen Garden Forum

When you put nets over crops try not to leave surplus net loose round the edges as it is easy for hedgehogs and small birds to get tangled in it.

Last year, even though I regularly checked my strawberry net and the one over the fruit cage a hedgehog and a blackbird had got completely tangled in the spare net at the end and I didn't find them until the end of the season when I took the nets down. I felt so guilty at causing such a horrible death.

This is the reason I don;t use nets at all, alos in case one of the chickens or ducks escapes fromt he run - which they do - and coudl easily get caught up. Strange but true, and not everyone would want to do this, but if you let the "weeds" - grasses, etc - grow up betweent eh fruit bushes and plants, it hides the ripening fruits to a good extent, so less likely to be seen by birds. I've done this the past three years or so and have had great crops of redcurrants etc. After fruiting,a ttend to the bushes, cut down the weeds, weeds the ground underneath and mulch well. Works for me. Cut weeds go on compost, to the goats and chickens, or left as sheet mulch.