A Strawberry Scarecrow & Sweet Potatoes

Last year the birds discovered our new strawberry bed and ate the one or two berries we let grow. It was easy for them to sit on the fence to select the next course for their meal. Now that we have some berries growing, it’s time to see if we can deter the birds. I don’t usually buy whirly-gig things for decoration, but I actually like this one and it has marbles. It even comes with a few extras just in case I ‘lose my marbles’, which I have been known to do from time to time.

I have heard of people using old CD’s, no not certificates of deposit, which are losing value quickly these days, but computer CD’s. Except for buying the occasional computer program or music CD, most people don’t use these anymore. With the advent of flashdrives and direct downloads from the internet, CD’s have quickly become obsolete. Well, we have a spool of unused CD’s that have been sitting around for a number of years, so I thought now I could put them to good use. All I need is a couple of old socks and some fishing line.

I wanted the socks to protect the cherry trees I am using for end posts. I figure if I hang the CD’s across the strawberry bed, it will keep the birds away…..maybe. It’s worth a try anyway. First I cut the toe off the sock, then cut it down the whole length. This way I can wrap it around the fishing line several times for cushioning. 

Then I wrapped the sock/line around each tree and tied it off, creating a kind of clothes line effect. This will easily hold the weight of the CD’s, but hopefully not the weight of a bird.
 
From here I tied a line to the CD’s using the hole in the middle. I thought about drilling a hole by the edge of each one, but then I thought the more wobbly the better. They still twirl about in the wind, which I hope will keep the birds away.

I tried to keep them up high enough that they won’t be in my way when I want to work in the bed, but low enough to deter birds. We will see if it works.

 
Next, I wanted to plant a few sweet potatoes. We grew a nice patch of sweet potatoes last year, but then found out we really don’t eat very many. I also agree with some other folks recommendations that it is better not to let them vine out all over, like I did, because then you have small potatoes everywhere the vine goes, and that’s a lot of digging.

So this year I am planting a few of our potatoes from last year that have sprouted in these large wooden planters. I think it will look nice, since sweet potatoes have beautiful vines. Then at the end of the summer, I can harvest the potatoes right out of the pots. It also gives us more room in the garden for other things.

The growing season is upon us and everything is green and lush. We’re getting plenty of rain to get everything off to a great start and school is almost out. Things are heating up all over the world, regardless of the season. Keep your eyes open, stay alert, and evaluate the information that is out there for yourself. Don’t take the words of the talking heads at face value. How will you get information when the talking heads are gone? Make sure you have your radio communications in order. The seasons of our world are changing and we will have to adapt, one way or another. Be ready.

Until next time – Fern