I’m looking for cost effective alternatives to these seedling germination domes and protection. I need something that I can buy now. Cut milk jugs are awesome, but I don’t have time to collect the 20 or so I need for planting this week.
by jodell719
I’m looking for cost effective alternatives to these seedling germination domes and protection. I need something that I can buy now. Cut milk jugs are awesome, but I don’t have time to collect the 20 or so I need for planting this week.
by jodell719
23 Comments
yeah those are something you can try.
i put a bluetooth speaker out in my garden with a podcast playing over a dog growling all night. worked great lol
What are you trying to protect them from, exactly? Milk jugs are usually used as mini greenhouses, while wire cages are for keeping animals away. Some people bury those cages in the ground under the plant to protect the roots from burrowing animals.
These are usually available at dollar tree for whatever their lowest price is ($1.25?)
Look into floating row covers.
Mesh trash cans from the dollar store or target or wherever. If it’s labeled for gardening it will be more expensive.
I feel like this post was made for me lol I literally just wrapped up a search for plant cages and chicken wire ideas for my baby strawberry plants
What are you trying to protect them from? I’m my experience these are kinda pointless.
Bought these exact ones and they burrowed underneath and/or flipped the cage.
I put the plastic baskets from dollar tree over my plants and staked them down to protect them until they get bigger. It also helps because we keep getting hail and my poor plants got creamed last year but the baskets protected them this year. They wouldn’t protect from bugs though, it does keep the squirrels, birds and rabbits from messing with them too
Let me know when they’re electrified
Those are nice, but a clear Tupperware also is good. Take it off when it flowers so the needs can pollinate it
I also use the wire trash cans from the dollar tree. $1.25 each. I just got some to protect some small plants from rabbits until they get bigger. They also have clear domes.
If this is for cut worms, I use toilet paper and paper towel tubes cut into 2 inch rings and cut down the middle to place over the stems. Sink them a bit into the soil.
They are free, biodegrade and don’t need to be removed.
If this is for larger mammals, it’s easier and cheaper to get u posts and chicken wire to fence the plot. Especially with the plant numbers I’m dealing with. Easily pulled out in the fall if you don’t want it up all winter.
I just go to the Dollar Store for wire baskets and put a brick or something on top – keeps the bunnies and deer away, too
Spend money to protect seedling but then spend more when its fruiting for a larger cage?
Lolol a trashcan
Also a mist of diluted urine from a sprayer around the garden works well.
So my bedside trash bin in paid 1 dollar for
I’ve used these in the past and had a lot of problems. The animals will typically tip them right over, and eventually the seedlings get too large and they need to be removed anyway and are vulnerable again. For me, I now use full size tomato cages wrapped in cheap plastic chicken fencing pinned with zip ties. It’s a little bit more expensive, but far more effective IMO.
**Sorry for any double posts, I apparently didn’t have my flare set correctly**
I bought about 300 wooden skewers and lined the perimeter of my garden with them to keep squirrels from digging in my bed. It’s worked pretty well so far! Significantly reduced the number of little holes and disturbances. I’ve also put a bit of my cat’s hair on some of the spikes so it smells like a predator. But the spikes have been the main help. I don’t have much actual food growing yet, aside from a few beans and peas, so we’ll see how well it continues to work when the real treats come in.
I recently purchased a mesh protector for seedlings/plants from Walmart. It’s called Pop Net by Dalen Products. The dimensions are 40″ L x 40″ W x 39″ H and they have another (smaller) size option. They also have a website: https://www.dalenproducts.com/products/pop-net
Last year I used a mesh protector for plants purchased from the dollar store for my mesclun trays. It was a bit annoying to set up but it did the job too. I also added bird spike strips (also purchased from the dollar store) around the plants as a deterrent
Yes! Dollar tree and it’s the best use!
I use agricultural fleece/row cover in spring and early summer. Either falt over the seedlings if they can stand that or held up with hoops. That provides warmth, protection from wind and lets water through. It also dissuades the rabbits, deer( although won’t stop trampling) squirrels and pigeons from eating everything. Then when it is too warm I switch to netting, in my case scaffold safety netting as it’s cheap, a decent size and uv stabilized. I use poles with plant pots over the top of them to lift it up above the plants.