Good Garden Netting Choices for Green Gardening
Garden mesh: friend or foe?
How useful and necessary is garden netting? Is it just so much almost-instant landfill?
If you are going to be growing anything more than a few salad vegetables on your patio, you are probably going to need some netting. Netting offers us some protection against the depredations of birds and insects and even mammals.
Sometimes, despite wanting to take a holistic view of gardening, it can seem a bit of a war; half the animal kingdom is up for exploiting you hard work! It is one of the few downsides of grow-it-at-home experience - from time to time your crops get eaten before you get a chance. This can be especially soul-destroying if you have put in hours or days of work or if you have spent a lot of money on seeds or seedlings.
Timely use of some netting can often prevent this situation from arising.
So what type of netting is best?
There are lots of types available, from insect netting to bird netting and even deer netting. The exact purpose you want it for will govern what's best. The garden net types found in most garden centres and shops is general purpose, mainly for deterring birds, small animals and larger insects.
Most garden netting is made from polyethylene and similar materials.
Stretch or non-stretch netting?
Stretchy black netting is good for small areas where you want a temporary shelter. Non-stretch netting is better for covering a large, defined area in a more permanent or semi-permanent way.
Non-stretch netting is usually sold in packs of different sizes. Stretch netting is more often sold on rolls and you buy a measured amount, as you would for fleece or other fabrics.
The quality of garden netting is variable. The cheaper kinds may snag and tear too easily, so check that what you buy is fit for purpose.
Is there a bio-degradable garden netting on the market?
I've not found one yet. You'll be the first to know when I do! Obviously there would be a big disadvantage to garden netting which biodegrades too readily. But a netting which biodegrades effectively after a decade or two would be a useful advance.
Make sure you dispose of broken polyethylene netting by taking it your local recycling centre.
How best to use netting in the garden
There are a myriad ways to use garden netting effectively. You can make small cloche-like enclosures around your plants with bendy tubing (plumbing blue pipes are sometimes used as they bend yet hold their shape well.)
You can fence off areas of the garden or plot using garden netting, much as if you were using garden wire fencing. The problem with this is that weeds tend to invade the edges and gradually undermine your efforts and may even cause your netting to tear. This method is therefore best used over a shortish period of time, or if you are able to be assiduous in keeping weeds in check.
You can also create a special structure on which to hang your netting. Special inter...
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