Fruits and Nuts: Fruit harvest - breakfast anyone?, 1 by krowten

krowten wrote:
Downscale, I cover my blueberries and other small fruits with netting. I don't use the stuff called "bird netting" with triangular mesh, but the stuff called garden netting with rectangular mesh. I spread over PVC hoops and hold on with clips. The rectangular mesh allows me to get it on straight. The setup stays up all the time, even through the winter, although once the fruit harvest is done, I raise the mesh and leave it up.

This works pretty well for me. The birds get nothing after I lower the mesh and I don't mind that at all. The picture here is of the new row I put up this year. You can see older ones in the background that were not as neat. The biggest problem with doing this is sealing the mesh at the ground. If not done properly, the birds will scoot under it. It also takes some effort to raise or lower, as you have to remove or replace clips. As my plants grow, I have had to increase the size of the hoops for enough height.