Birds can sometimes find their way underneath bird netting. Here’s an alternative solution to keeping birds and pests away from your orchard while growing organic fruit trees and berries.
I started wondering how to protect my fruit from birds after I noticed that they like to eat my peaches and strawberries as much as I do. Bird netting has never been effective for me, because the birds always find a way under it. With floating row cover, however, birds can’t see the fruit. If they can’t see it, they leave it alone.
When the fruit starts to ripen, I cover my peach tree and strawberry plants. I remove the fabric from the strawberries periodically to allow bees and other pollinators to access the bright blossoms.
My peach tree is espaliered, which makes it easy to cover. I use wooden clothespins to secure the floating row cover. As an added bonus, the cover is easy to fold up and store until I need it next season.
Donna Enz
Lyle, Washington
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Does anyone have a guess which type of row cover this is? I've started looking, and I'm finding anywhere from 10-95% light pass through, high and low insulation, and about half a dozen materials row cover fabric could be made of.