Ingenious DIY crop covers!

[Laura Hillier]

Hi All,

Now that thoughts are turning to the new season and all the lovely crops that will be on their way, we were wondering - how do you protect your produce? Do you have any ingenious crop covers or any DIY means of seedling protection you are particularly proud of?

Also, do you make or buy the majority of structures for your plot?

Answers may be edited and published in the April issue of GYO.

Laura

[BertieFox]

As we have an isolated plot in the countryside and lots of space, we find that integrated crop management really works so we rarely need to cover our crops to protect them from insect and other pest damage.

The greatest problem we have, especially with loads of birds around, is the damage they do to tree fruit, especially cherries and plums. What the locals use with great effect and which really seems to work is a very realistic model of an owl hung in the tree. Why an OWL works when they are nocturnal and the birds taking the cherries are mostly active in the day, I don't know, but I guess it is because anything which looks like a bird of prey keeps them away.

The only other effective deterrent we have found is the use of old CDs hung in the branches on threads as the flash from the shiny surface really does frighten them away.

[broch]

Hi there,

We use plastic fish boxes which work as a cloche. As they are mostly the same shape and size, one can plan out planing accordingly.

Also inverted plastic milk bottle bottoms make an excellent micro-cloche too.

Hope this helps

[wbmkk]

I got some fluorescent light diffusers given to me last year, when I told an electrician friend that I had just got an allotment.

Maybe they are too low, only about 75mm, but it might give something a head start.

[KittyColdNose]

I work in a place where we buy in diluting pop by the gallon bottle so I claim them as the only gardener working there. Any other handy cloche type tubs/bottles are also claimed by me if they don't automatically come my way anyhoo.

[Laura Hillier]

All great ideas and tips so far!

Do you recycle other household items for use on the plot?

Laura

[crannman]

try and recycle most things pop bottles for mini cloche i even pick up elastic bands the postman drops come in handy for bean wigwams infact i'v become a bit of a magpie...mmmmmm will that come in useful at the allotment

[Mr Bones]

I fasten a piece of coat-hanger type wire to a four foot stick so the wire extends out by about two feet, then using a length of string suspend an empty plastic bottle from the wire so it can bounce about in the wind (looks a bit like a game of hangman). The erratic movement of the bottle seems to upset wood pigeons but doesn't bother the beneficial smaller birds as much.

[lottie dolly]

We make what ever we can,new for this year are 3 very large walk in cages,covered with debri netting,the roof is done separate,so can be left of for snow and taller things during rotation,one on each rotation plot,another 1 hopefully next year,last years project was a wood frame covered in scaffold polthene,for our tunnel,as well as some raised beds,cold frame,greenhouse,sheds,compost bins,and a trelis arch way,

[Linzy]

My other half reckons i should win awards for my scrimping abilities. I work at a garage and the scrappy couple doors down have given me lots of car rear glass windows. They are perfect as they are slightly curved so you can plonk them over your seeds and dont have to worry bout getting them squashed. I use my large plastic bottles as mini cloches they work well. My other half is a scaffolder so im always nipping into his yard (at the end of our garden... very convenient) to pinch brick guards to prop up my peas and this plastic sheeting they wrap round scaffolding as its great for laying over the ground to heat it up. He went to the lottie the other day and went ' ah well i see where all my missing brickguards have gone'

[Tripmeup]

Like others, I use various smaller bits and pieces as coverings from time to time.
One thing I always do when planting out my courgette and squash plants for the first time is cover them at night with those household storage/container boxes that you can use for DVDs etc...
It does a great job preventing the slugs from getting at them at night, and I continue to do this until they are established enough to mind themselves.

[Mikey]

I have a roll of fencing wire which has been cut into lengths of approximately 1.2 metres. These go into the ground to make a mini polytunnel about 40cm wide and 30cm high. I then have a load of free end of roll plastic from a maker of vacuum pack bags. These are normally about a metre wide and upto 40 or 50 metres in length, which normally get chucked away. This goes on top of my wire and a second layer of wire goes above it again pinning the plastic in place. The cardboard tubes out of the centre make useful leek tubes when cut down. The plastic eventually ends up being recycled, which is better than going straight into the skip.

[rary]

I use two large polystyrene fish boxes, the type that`s used whole salmon, as a wormbox the lid is removed from one and the second is placed on top, this one is used as the worm box they are than placed on a sloping frame and a hole punched into the lower back corner of the top box this allows any liquid to drain out of the worm bedding and is held in the lower box. The legs of the frame have been coated with grease to keep snails out, I have used this system over the winter and the worms have been active all the time, place a weight on the top box lid to save it being blown away. The polystyrene boxes can also be made into hot boxes for compost

[Highlander]

Where I work milk is delivered in small plastic screw top bottles (not sure about the size probably about 250ml). They are just like the large square section bottles but make ideal individual starter plant pots for things like broad beans, french beans, etc. etc. I strap them together with tape to make a 20 cell tray.

[keen bean]

I planted 120 broad beans in my front garden in Autumn, most germinated but I would say half were nibbled by a sneaky mouse who crept under my netting. The problem is I live on the coast with a strong wind coming off the sea which shifts any kind of protection quite quickly! Now I notice some of the remaining younger shoots are going black on the leaf tips - would that be because of the awful rain and wind we've had? Any ideas for protection would be welcome before I lose them all!!


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