[Arid_gardener] peas

[Dick Gross]

If a worm or other insect is eating your seedlings, KLH, you surely would find some evidence upon close inspection. A flashlight at night might reveal the culprit.

But it is probably birds that nibble until all the tender flesh is eaten away as fast as it appears. I have had the problem with grackles, I believe they are called, but there may be others that relish a vegetable diet.

There is no easy way I am aware of to stop them. The easiest, if the plants are small, is to cover them lightly with a Remay paper cloth. It is light enough to lay on top of many plants without shutting out too much light but you can also construct a simple frame from stakes to drape the cloth over the plants. Use 1 inch nursery stakes and attach the cloth with a paper stapler just to keep it intact. When the harvest is over, toss the cloth with the vines.

The material is quite light and will. if not anchored, disappear with the first breeze but it may let enough light through to make a crop. I have usually removed the cover when the plants are vigorously growing. 

Another method is to toss bird netting loosely over the plants and just let it lay or staple it to stakes as above. Keep it simple becausec it is temporary and keep in mind that you have to have access yourself to harvest the crop. It is not 100 percent effective but birds, I percieve, don't like their claws caught up in it and tend to dine elsewhere.

There is no other way. You have to fence them out.

How would you react if, famished, you came upon a diner with a sign out front, Free Hambergers. All you can eat

Dick Gross, MGV MCCE    
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: KLH718 at aol.com 
  To: arid_gardener at Ag.arizona.edu 
  Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 7:36 AM
  Subject: [Arid_gardener] peas


  Something's eating my peas.  The baby vines are approx. 1 1/2 ft. long, but something's eating the very tips and pretty much shearing off the leaves as well.

  It looks like caterpillar or other worm damage, but the only thing I see in my garden are birds.  Could they be the culprits?

  Thanks,
  Karen
  85340


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