Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: snooziebunny on June 17, 2014, 11:37

Title: Pea netting strategy?
Post by: snooziebunny on June 17, 2014, 11:37
How do you net over peas? My peas are climbing and holding on to my net.... could anyone explain how to do this properly or any pics would be fab - thankyou lovely people xx
Title: Re: Pea netting strategy?
Post by: mumofstig on June 17, 2014, 13:25
Check out the bottom picture here
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=50902.msg602767#msg602767
Title: Re: Pea netting strategy?
Post by: Goosegirl on June 17, 2014, 14:00
This is a case of "there is more than one way to swing a cat" (nothing to do with felines, by the way). I have never netted my peas against pigeons, etc, only to support them as they grow. Although I have wood pigeons here, I don't seem to have a problem with them - maybe my 4 cats help out there, but maybe you could see how it goes unless you have birdies nipping them off, but I would have thought it unlikely as it seems to be the younger growth they like??
Title: Re: Pea netting strategy?
Post by: mumofstig on June 17, 2014, 15:31
There's always young growth at the top of the plant  :D

I don't have to net peas on the allotment - I suppose there's lots of other food available - but in the garden sparrows are a real problem :dry:
Title: Re: Pea netting strategy?
Post by: DD. on June 17, 2014, 16:48
This is a case of "there is more than one way to swing a cat" (nothing to do with felines, by the way). I have never netted my peas against pigeons, etc, only to support them as they grow. Although I have wood pigeons here, I don't seem to have a problem with them - maybe my 4 cats help out there, but maybe you could see how it goes unless you have birdies nipping them off, but I would have thought it unlikely as it seems to be the younger growth they like??

Actually the expression is "There's more than one way to skin a cat".  :lol:

As I often say, I have to net at all stages of growth and it's better safe than sorry, a stripped pea will not recover.
Title: Re: Pea netting strategy?
Post by: JayG on June 17, 2014, 18:12
I use temporary vertical netting about 6-9" away from the peas, which is enough to prevent pigeons being able to land next to them without the peas actually attaching themselves to it - once they get to about 18" tall they are out of reach of even wood pigeons so I remove it.

(That would have been my advice before hearing about DD's local pigeons using the top of his pea rows as a landing site - how precious it would be to have a picture of one of the fat, dopey animals misjudging its landing and finishing up upside-down on the ground?!  :lol:)

As for sparrows, they can be very destructive round here - this afternoon I did what is now an annual routine of putting up netting parallel to my Munty frame to stop the little 'thingies' pecking off the flowers and sometimes even the shoots, of my runner beans, apparently just for fun.  :nowink:
Title: Re: Pea netting strategy?
Post by: Jackypam on June 18, 2014, 22:12
My runners are even shorter today so I have encased in chicken wire.  That should stop them!  They are eating the lettuce too!   I'm guessing wood pigeons or the large rook colony.