%#*$%@!! Grackles are poking holes in my...

[Genovessa]

Tomatoes! For those that don't know what a grackle is, it's a bird sort of like a crow.

My "maters" are HUGE this year, taller than my head and bearing heavy but I've yet to get a single one before the birds take hunks out of them. Any suggestions that won't get me arrested for shooting a shotgun inside the city limits?

[earthmother]

Netting? Cats? Scare crow? Try spraying some hot pepper spray on a few? Maybe you can teach the birds tomatoes are not so good.

[hippiehillbilly]

netting seems like a good option.

i feel for you,we replanted corn and beans musta been a dozen times because of the crows. we finally resorted to letting the area get full of weeds and then planting in among the weeds. it worked.

damn crows..

[raz5]

http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/scarecrow.jpg

[Genovessa]

We planted in raised beds, 4x4. Yesterday we put up bamboo poles on the corners and strung an old hammock netting over the top. Also, I stuck a bunch of pinwheels in with the plants in hopes the movement will scare them off. We'll see how it goes.

[earthmother]

Bamboo is a great thing for a gardener!

I like the pinwheel idea. Think I'll try that one myself.

We have a deer problem too. Yesterday, we built a "garden monster" and placed it by one of the gardens that has no fence around it. Deer were eating the tops of my tomatoes. We'll see if it works. It's basically a tripod of bamboo poles with an "arm" tied horizontally. About 10 feet tall, complete with pig mask, orange deer hunter cap, gloves, and "robe" made of one of the biggest and stinkiest dog blankets imaginable....

[Fyrenza]

Too bad birds can't smell... :p

(Just being a smart-aleck!)