Empty aviary - any alternative uses?

[Hayley]

I have an empty 6x3 bird aviary (also 6ft high) which is all mesh apart from the flat felted roof. I no longer wish to keep birds in it but would it be any good for anything in the garden?

[mothhawk]

Replace the roof with mesh or netting for a perfect fruit cage

[Hayley]

Like the idea how are fruit cages usually set up so yet plants are supported and so you can get inside to pick fruit?

[rustylady]

Oh no, what happened to your quail?

What sort of fruit are you thinking about? Things like gooseberries, black and redcurrants don't need any support.

[Hayley]

Don't worry Rustylady I have a proper aviary attached to a shed which the quail are in. This redundant aviary was a second one I built but no longer need.

My favourite fruits are strawberries, raspberries and blackberries so any of those or perhaps a mini mixed cage?

[Hayley]

Just had another idea - would it make a poly tunnel or do they have to have a round top?

[veggiechicken]

The roof might be better on a slope so that the rain drains away. If you raise one side, you could put some clear corrugated sheets over the top and polyplastic over the sides to make a polytunnel/GH.

[Kitchen Gardener]

We inherited a very large aviary when we bought our house. We didn't want to keep birds but since the aviary gets lots of sun so I bought two large plastic greenhouses and my tomatoes are doing very well in them. When we can afford to it, we will replace the aviary with a large lean to greenhouse but it will do until then.

[taff]

Or a cabbage patch, if the mesh is small enough to keep cabbage whites out

[bearded bloke]

At Abergasney they are using the aviaries to grow strawberries in,sort of an inversion whereby the aviary keeps the birds out rather than in