Millions of homeowners in the UK grow a vegetable garden in the backyard. Gardening has been a popular pastime in Britain since Roman times. Of course, at the start, their popularity was due to necessity. That is, people needed a supplemental source of food. But today, few people actually need to grow their own vegetables for survival. So, why do they do it?
The simplest explanation is that people in the UK actually enjoy it. Why else would gardening be one of the most popular weekend activities in the UK? After all, it isn't easy. Maintaining a garden, especially a vegetable garden, can be a lot of work. Take for example pest control. Dozens of common outdoor critters enjoy feasting on fresh veggies. Ground animals like rabbits, geese and deer can be the death of a garden if they are not kept at bay. The easiest way to protect your produce is to install a wire mesh fence about a foot and a half high. If you have a problem with deer, you may want to raise that up to around three feet.
But let us not forget the pests of the sky. No fence is going to keep them out. However, there are a few inexpensive options that gardeners have been using for decades. Shinny objects like mirrors and aluminium foil can distract and disorient birds. Don't worry, though, they won't cause them to crash.
Placing a few small mirrors or sheets of foil in the garden should be enough to keep birds away no matter how hungry they are. New seeds, which birds adore, can also be protected by thin strips of chicken wire.
