Sowing Peas and the battle to protect them from the pigeons.

Sowing Peas.
I will be sowing pea seeds at the allotment and at home in pots this week. The peas growing at home will be under our watchful eyes as we can water them and fetch them in at night. The peas sown on the vegetable plot will need a bit of luck weather wise and also some form of defence against the wood pigeons.

The first year I planted pea seeds on the allotment, I innocently thought that a bottle on a stick that rattled in the breeze  would deter the hungry pigeons. Wrong, it works for somethings but was no deterrent to the pigeons when tempted by tasty pea shoots emerging from the soil. How about black cotton strung across sticks then? Well it might have deterred them landing in the area that the peas were growing. But, it did not stop them sneaking up and walking up and down the rows, feasting as if they were in a kindly provided - free salad bar.

You may think I am now going to say I have found the solution, the truth is I am trialing different ways to stop them wrecking my future pea harvest. If I find the perfect deterrent for pigeon eating seedlings, I will update this. In the mean time I will be nurturing the pea seeds germinating in pots in the garden, that are put away into the shed at night.  While covering the ones at the allotment until they are more established might be my best bet. A cloche over the rows seems like a good idea but even then it means more work when watering the seedlings.