[Charmo]

I have bought some thin plastic netting to protect my onions from birds.
It's a nightmare to keep in place over the allotment.

Any ideas as to how to secure it, a frame or something?

[fatcat1955]

Either wire or pipe bent into hoops and pushed into the soil.

[seaside]

Hi there, I'm another new contributor to this forum.
Two or three years ago I  transferred my vegetable efforts from a North facing walled garden to an allotment for reasons of wanting something to eat for my efforts.
Two things became clear to me early on. Slugs, sunlight hours and an impoverished soil were my nemesis in the walled garden, whereas birds are public enemy number one up on the open allotment, and I didn't have a clue how destructive they could be.
Whereas brassicas and fruit irritatingly needed more careful netting where birds are concerned, a more laissez faire netting does the trick for me with young onions... I don't bother at all with securing the edges, just any old net draped over tin cans on bamboo for the first month of growth, if I have some spare, weighed down with the odd handful of soil. Any unprotected onion sets have never given me losses more than 5%... fingers crossed.

[taytors]

What i do is fly the flag . A short bean cane with the union jack flying does the trick
To be p c any flag will do 

[DD.]

You obviously have never encountered the breed of pigeons we have on our site. You require Kevlar netting with stakes hammered 6 feet into the ground. They laugh in the face of bits of plastic & CD's!

Having said that a previous poster was quite right in saying that once rooted, birds are not bothered about onions.

[devonbarmygardener]

Now the onion fly - that's another issue - and normal netting won't help that

[taytors]

Its a challenge man against mother nature
Someone one is always one step ahead
Lets hope mother stays in front or we will be in the do da

[Benandbill]

I've usually been lucky with onions, it's my runner beans and brassicas we normally have difficulty with.  Re, securing nets, usually for my cabbages, I use a length of bamboo with a plastic water bottle over the top here and there, then drape the net over the top of them all.  Once happy I bury the edges of the net under the soil.  I suppose if you have enough largish stones / old housebricks, you could use them to fasten the netting down as an alternative?  The only downside to my method is it's a potch if you want to get in and weed every so often.  Also, with my runner beans, I have to just pop them back in the ground as I don't know how to protect them.   Charmo, where did you get your netting?

[JayG]

Assuming it's sets you're referring to, I agree with those who say that once firmly rooted they aren't of much interest to birds.

I chuck folded netting loosely over the bed, pegged or weighted down until the bulbs start to shoot - it seems to do enough to put birds off and also deters cats from digging/scratching (and foxes too if I've used dried chicken poo.)

[Sadgit]

I use debris netting, it is supported some small bamboo canes with lengths of old hose pipe jammed on the end of the canes. I must find a better solution this year

[Charmo]

Benandbill,
I just got it from Sainsbury's.

Thanks for all of your help, think I'm off to the garage with some bamboo canes, old bottles and some of the wife's ABBA cds!!!