Welcome to spring and summer in your garden! It’s a time when we get to enjoy better weather, longer days and the joy of sunshine! These months are also when all the creatures, birds, bugs, pests and diseases wake up too though, and think that our newly prepared beds or pots are their playground! They seem to think that we provide mulch for them to remove and young plants for them to dig out, destroy or lay their eggs on…!
It is a source of frustration for people in every sector of the growing world.
But did you know that you can prevent this with prior planning, a bit of effort and time? This is the Grow Inspired way, allowing you to sleep soundly at night or even go away knowing that your garden is protected!
Netting your garden is the key
Net your garden as soon as you have planted – do it once and do it well. There are many different ways of doing this, depending on your budget and what kind of netting you require for your plants.
Make sure you collect the right equipment to start with to avoid frustrations later on.
How do I net my garden or beds?
Personally, I find the easiest way is using hoops with netting laid over the top and fixed with stretchy string. If on a raised bed, I hook it on to nails. You can use re-bar, sticks, fibreglass poles, bamboo etc. The key is to make sure you get some alkathene pipe to slide over your support poles to create a smooth surface for the netting to slide over #toptip
Once your netting is over, you can either pin it to the side of your raised bed, cover it with soil or weigh it down with stones. This will keep birds, rabbits, cats and dogs out of your garden!
What netting do I choose?
There are a few different types of netting on the market now which give you choice. If you are looking to keep general creatures out of the garden, bird netting or old vineyard netting works wonders.
However, if you are looking to keep whitefly, aphids and psyllids out, you will need insect netting, which has a very fine weave and will protect your garden very well. The fabric is light and easy to use, and really does protect your plants from not only insect infestation but weather extremes too.
A great place to look for these, apart from your garden centres. is at Redpath or Cosio Plastics. You can order in different widths and lengths and even get end-of rolls.
When should the nets come off?
I generally like to remove my netting when my plants are ripening up, as I love to look at and enjoy my plants. If you have a regular spray programme, then rest assured that you can spray through these types of netting.
Remember, gardening is meant to be enjoyable and by pre-planning and netting your garden, you can avoid many frustrations in the long run.
Happy gardening!
This blog has been featured by Twinkl among their top tips for ”Starting a Kids-friendly Vegetable Garden“
