[Rhuby]

How can I stop birds eating or picking off the flowers on my beans?
.......................ARGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Oliver]

How can I stop birds eating or picking off the flowers on my beans?

Grow white flowered beans - the birds seem to so for red flowers! My white flowered beans are fine! (Painted Lady or Margoyles). Save seed from year to year.

[Rhuby]

Now thats a good idea, bet they look pretty too!!
I'm also growing pink flowered variety but they seem a bit slow and weak at the mo.
Thanks for the tip!
ps. your cat is cute!

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Rhuby, Oliver IS the cat!!!! lol

[Oliver]

Every year they have lots of runner beans - they make them into 'Pickled Runner Beans' (A 'Delia' recipe) which they eat themselves, or give as Christmas Presents (along with other home grown and home made stuff - jams, chutneys etc). Everyone saves jars for her (the kind with nice gingham lids) can't move in the house for jars ...
Trouble is the beans all come at once even if she sows them in succession! So this year she is trying 3 weeks between sowings!

[Rhuby]

Hi i'm Rhubys cat. My name is Sybil, i also think Oliver is cute. I'm off to sleep in the bamboo.
Rhuby says her mum makes runner bean pickle which is nice and sweet!!
Rhuby has  also tied some jam tart foils to her bean poles, but I think its too late!!
The birds have won already!!

[mellowmick]

I have lovely red flowers on my runners and a virtually resident pair of wood pigeon who roost in the tree in my allotment. The birds are quick to get at my brassicas, young sweet corn shoots and leek tips, but have left my red runner flowers for the ten days or so since they appeared. Perhaps different birds in different areas have differing tastes, or maybe our ones are colour blind. Or maybe I'll get up there tonight and find my plot suddenly deficient in the red flower department. Darwin would have had something to say on it. :?

[Oliver]

Perhaps different birds in different areas have different tastes

Apparently its sparrows and blue tits that like red flowers. So our friend Monty says ....
Hector the pretend cat (see my album of photos) has made sure the pigeons stay off her purple sprouting. The Pork (pigeon-scaring-hawk made out of a black bin liner) was no use at all - the pigeons just laughed and ate the brassicas anyhow. The rest of her brassicas are covered up in a Enviromesh cage to keep the butterflies off too.

[Oliver]

Hello Sybil. Sleeping is the only thing to do in this heat, don't you think? She was out most of the day catching up with planting (she waters the stuff in so they have plenty of moisture at the roots, otherwise planting in the hot part of the day is crazy!) she's a daft old bat anyway!
She has sown some more beans and they germinate in about 5 days now, so perhaps Rhuby can still catch up? Hope so because the lovely sweet bean pickle is too good to miss. Bye!

[wendy]

Prhaps you could tie old blank dvd discs to the canes etc,the shiny reflection might deter them.i saw a line of them strung across a veg patch somewhere ,thought i might copy the idea when i get my veg patch up and running again.

best wishes wendy

[Rhuby]

Hi Oliver, I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself as Rhuby took me to the V E T
, who took alot of my teeth out!! :oops:
I had a look at the said beans and I think she was a bit mean to say it was all down to the birds, especially as there are so many black aphids on the beans.
If there were maltesers in the trees, think how much damage those humans would do trying to eat them!!!!!

Anyway they grow too many beans anyway so maybe it'll equal it up,
(what do I know I'm only a cat!)

[Oliver]

teeth out :oops:

Dear Sybil - I feel for you my dear, I had four teeth out recently at the you know whos. My jaw was rather sore, but the most insulting part was I got phlebitis in my little arm where I had the drip. She nursed me back to health - took three weeks and many dressings on my arm (even made me a little coat so I could not get at the bandages. It was very effective - I did not have to wear that awful lampshade-thing which stopped me drinking.) So I hope you get better very soon! Best wishes, Oliver :cry:

PS: she usually lets everything do its thing on the plot, but this year she has drawn the line at the blackfly on the runner beans - she has sprayed them with derris. Seems to have done the trick. The broadbeans, which were severely attacked, have been consigned to the compost heap. O

[GrannieAnnie]

I'm lucky so far, no blackfly on my first lot of broad beans, but I did notice some yesterday on a weed about 10 foot away, so I squashed them all and will keep a better eye on my beans now.  like you Oliver, keeping this year's brassicas under mesh, and they are looking GOOD!  Last year they didnt heart up, but that was probably my fault, perhaps ground was too soft.  Well, we'll say oH's fault as he told me not to firm the ground!!!!

I'd like to know Oliver, why your humans never post on here!!!  Are they too busy, or can't they write??? lol  Don't think they should make a had working cat like you do all the writing!!!  I told my cat Sooty that she should come on here and play with the 'mouse' but she's too busy sleeping (sorry I mean guarding) the big greenhouse!!!!

[Oliver]

why the humans never post on here

I keep telling them they should post a thing or two but they are very busy, she planting, he weeding (his favourite occupation, fortunately!) or guarding the walnut tree. He also likes to read his paper and not be bothered by Her! In the evening it takes them about 2 hours to water the plot with watering cans. So I do all the writing for them.
Keeps me out of mischief too - and I love playing with the mouse - it doesn't run away and I don't get into trouble. When I used to bring the other kind into the house she would do her nut. Also when I brought her goldfish from nextdoor's pond. The otherone brings frogs - and they don't half scream! The frogs, I mean. She has to evict them else the stupid things go under the furniture and dehydrate, only to be found several months later if She spring cleans! Might be interesting to hear what Sooty has to say!

PS: she says the books say brassicas like to be planted very firmly and they need lots of water in dry weather. Her caulis got eaten by caterpillars last year. So far this year there are plenty of leaves, but we are hopeful! O

[GrannieAnnie]

Sooty isn't talking to me at the moment, after years of hiding upstairs when we got a dog (sorry Oliver for 3 letters wrods!!!),she has now decided that she is going to be a greenhouse cat and likes to sleep out there.  But she is 11 this year and I do worry about her out there all alone, so tonight I brought her indoors and now she has the hump!!!!