environmentally friendly netting

[poppybrighton]

Hello

I am trying to reduce the amount of plastic that I use. Last year I bought some netting to protect the strawberries and gooseberries from birds however it was made of plastic and ripped very easily. Last years remains have had to be thrown away. Can anyone recommend something sturdier that isn't made of plastic? I was looking for cotton or similar but I haven't had much luck.

Also if you have any other tips for reducing plastic on the allotment then please share those too!

Thanks!

[Thelma Sanders]

Cotton will just rot away, so not really a good idea for protection IMO, just like like jute string that looks a good idea/nicely rustic but falls apart before the summer's over.
The likes of debris netting and enviromesh may not be exactly eco-friendly but I've been using some of mine for 10 years now and they've not ripped or deteriorated at all. So I don't think that's too bad for the environment as long as disposed of correctly at the end of its life.
It's usually the cheapo plastic that rips and I don't buy that now I know better.

[veggiechicken]

Have you tried this company? https://www.gardening-naturally.com/...etting-2m-x-5m

[Nicos]

I have been thinking about this for some time.
The only thing organic I could come up with which if fine enough to keep birds and butterflies out would probably be an old fashioned hemp/ cotton fishing net.
Absolutely no idea where you could buy one from though.
After using them they would try and dry them in the sun/wind during the day to help prevent them from rotting too quickly.

I'd certainly buy one if I could locate one at a reasonable price.

[Jay-ell]

I'm with thelma on this - cotton, hemp, just will just rot away. Of course the weather will determine how quick it will rot, wet or damp weather accelerating the pace, dry sunny weather will dry it out (although it will probably still rot at the places it joins the ground if you're watering).

Debris netting is cheap and keeps out most pests - any holes that appear can be darned with fishing wire or something more to your personal preferences. Although there are environmental impacts at both ends of it's life cycle it should last for decades if looked after and maintained. I also used a mosquito net over the cordon cherry and apple trees once the fruit were forming.

How much of the crop are you loosing? Have you tried any other deterrent methods?

Last year I started the year placing stones around the strawberry beds painted red and lost few to birds (compared to the previous year when a large proportion had been pecked) as they had been getting headaches all year from pecking stones.

I also strung up red beads around my red currants when they were in flower and managed to get a crop off the plants unlike previous years. Forgot to do both so I'll see how it goes this year.

You could also look at forest gardens and polyculture planting strategies to see how they manage bird loss.

[burnie]

I too am phasing out all plastic where I can, I no longer buy plastic pots, now using terracotta and have been doing so for a couple of years. As each plastic item gets to the end of it's life, I clean it and put it in the re-cycling. I haven't got to the point of needing new netting yet, but I am hanging a lot of old cd's/dvd's on string to deter the birds and they are working, won't stop butterflies though!!.

[bikermike]

I'm all for avoiding plastic, but I think this is one of the places where it's better to use.

If you buy the good stuff it lasts. The netting means you get a combination of a better crop and/or you use less weedkillers etc, so there's an environmental upside either way

I have standardised on the insect netting from Gardening Naturally, as it seems good and tough and can be used on all things.

You could keep an eye out for old net curtains (although they don't seem to be cropping up as much any more).

[poppybrighton]

Thanks everyone, I am just going to have to get the good quality stuff from Gardening Naturally.

If anyone has any other tips for reducing plastic on the allotment / garden then please share. I am thinking of getting one of those wooden moulds for making pots from newspaper.

[veggiechicken]

Have a browse through this thread - plenty of ideas in it.

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ead_30193.html

[Thelma Sanders]

I am thinking of getting one of those wooden moulds for making pots from newspaper.

No need to buy anything to make pots - Use a tall thin spray can for pots for things like sweet peas and corn or a bean tin/jam jar for fatter ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSJab0Re2fA

[Forage420]

I posted about this some time again, as I wanted not to use plastic for the hoop tunnels. I ended up using 3metre lengths of non-stainless steel and bending them to form the hoops. The stainless steel is a lot more expensive, but the non-stainless steel version, despite rusting up, does the job well enough. So this avoids me needing to use plastic pipe (which I see commonly being used to form tunnels).

As for netting, mostly everything of any practical use will have some sort of UV coating, and likely made from HDPE. I honestly don't think there is much viable alternative if you grow intensively and systematically. Companion planting, and just being organic, can help allow your mini-eco system to find it's own balance, and keep pests at bay. Unfortunately, very little other than plastic netting is going to stop a big magpie from swooping down and ripping eveything up. The trouble is anything biodegradable will do exactly that, when you want it not to perish.