Pest: The Birds

Birds can be helpful to a garden by eating insects. However, in my experience, birds will do more harm than good. I've lost an entire set of transplants to some hungry birds. Anytime the garden has seedlings, either from a direct sowing or transplanting, I use wire hoops and wildlife netting to protect the plants. I will leave this netting in place until the plants reach the height of the netting. Usually, once the seedlings reach an adequate size, the birds will no longer clip leaves. This year is a bit different. My neighbor has a wonderful garden with lots of bird feeders. I truly appreciate all of the wildlife, however, several species have an affection for my small Swiss chard planting. I took these pictures to document my Swiss chard bird feeder. As the chard leaves increase in size, the stem gracefully arcs and provides an ideal perch for their snacking.

Community Gardens, ooh la la

What is a community garden?

Community gardens are run by organizations, groups,or individuals who have access to publicly or privately owned tracts of land. The land is divided into small plots, typically between 300 to 500 square ft, that is leased for a season to individuals or families in the community. Most community gardens have one or more volunteer committees that help to organize and maintain the garden. Usually, volunteer service hours are expected or required to maintain the pathways, tool sheds, and watering areas.

What to consider when joining a community garden:

How close is the garden to your house or workplace?

What facilities are provided? e.g. water source, tool shed

Are any gardening supplies included? e.g. compost delivery on-site, seed or plant donations

Is there a work requirement?

What is the cost for a season and is there a deposit?

How large is the plot? Will it be adequate for the crops that you want to grow?

Are there any planting restrictions? For instance, many community gardens prohibit planting of perennials because of high turn-over of plots and aggressive plants such as bronze fennel, mint, etc.

Benefits of Joining a Community Garden

It's about COMMUNITY. If you've just moved into the area, joining a community garden is a great way to meet other gardeners, learn what grows well, and hear about pest issues specific to the garden.

The joys and tribulations of growing your own food.

Preserving the harvest for the winter.

Donating extra produce and every gardener has a bumper crop of at least one vegetable.

And most of all, if you don't have access to land, this is your ticket to gardening.