tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2128670600673315122024-03-13T04:10:40.310-07:00The Urban FarmerThe bits and bobs of my farming experience in the community gardenwingyan_auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05782885552592100790noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-212867060067331512.post-15280522938968894172011-07-10T03:48:00.000-07:002011-07-10T03:48:11.869-07:00Prevent birds from eating cropsSummary of today's lecture<br />
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Birds prefer eating insects over vegetables and seeds. But if they can't find enough insects, for example, during the mating season, they will turn to vegetables and seeds.<br />
<u><br />
</u><br />
<u>Ways to scare birds away</u><br />
<ol><li>A yellow ball with a big black dot in the middle</li>
<li>Noise - as used in the airport - bells could be used</li>
<li>Flash/bright light - CDs - not to be used in organic farms because CDs contain heavy metals and may dissolve into the soil. Use foil paper instead.</li>
<li>Inflatable plastic bird - the shadow of the plastic bird would scare away birds (because small birds are afraid of big birds)</li>
<li>Dead bird</li>
<li>Fake snake (black plastic pipe) - need to warn people about the fake snake</li>
<li>Scarecrow - need to move the position of scarecrow and change clothes regularly because birds are clever. They observe you on the tree and they recognize people.</li>
<li>Fine bird nets - protecting the field </li>
<li>Dry leaves or dry grasses - place on top of the soil after sowing the seeds. If the leaves are not dry, they get rotten and bacteria will grow.</li>
</ol><u>Issues on global warming</u><br />
Melting of icebergs will reactivate some of the ancient viruses/bacteria. <br />
Migrating birds might bring along diseases from the north to the south.<br />
<br />
<u>Birds feces fertilizer</u><br />
Collected on small islands along the migrating routes <br />
Sterilized by high temperatures<br />
Rich in phosphorus - important for forming fruitswingyan_auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05782885552592100790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-212867060067331512.post-21514609068174071052011-06-01T07:19:00.000-07:002011-07-10T04:10:10.800-07:00Harvesting eight cumcumbers, and more to come :D<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Plants grow really rapidly. They look slightly different everyday. I watched them grow from a seed to a young plant. They grew taller and bigger. Then they flowered and here comes the cucumbers, expanding in size and ready to be consumed. It took only 40 days. Amazing!<br />
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How to tell the cucumber is ready to harvest?<br />
The yellow flower at the end of the cucumber will drop off. <br />
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