“Baby” Cages

I won’t take credit for ideas that aren’t mine, but I won’t hesitate to shamelessly show them here.

I can’t tell you how many times I have had my babies plucked by ravenous birds or chomped down by slimy snails.  One day my seedlings are popping up and growing well, the next day there is no sign they ever existed in the first place.

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I had heard of this little trick before, but I’m not sure where.  Probably from multiple sources.  I don’t know why I haven’t used it, yet, but I guess better late than never.  The berry baskets are especially helpful against birds, but will only work on larger snails whose shells are too big to squeeze through.  Smaller snails and slugs will need other techniques to keep them away from the young plants.

After planting seeds in the soil, cover them with the berry basket, digging the edges into the dirt to help hold them in place.  You can keep the basket in place until the seedlings are larger, but be sure to remove them before they get too crowded.  The baskets can be reused again when needed.  Don’t forget to check out other great ideas I have for home and garden (and I swear, most of them are mine!).