What did people do in the past to keep birds and other creatures off their seedlings?
It seems as though my cauliflowers and lettuces have grown overnight, since I put the netting up to protect them yesterday. Of course, it is just as likely to be wishful thinking on my part but at least they appear to be thriving now, so I can expect a crop of some sort in due course.
The downside of netting is that it doesn’t add to the aesthetics. The poor apple tree has had netting over it since it was seriously attacked in the first few months of its life in my garden (we are into year two now). I’ve also put a copper strip round the trunk to stop slugs and snails – yes! one of those was found chomping away on the budding leaves last spring. I’m not sure if that was why the tree developed very little last year, or if maidens do develop at such a pace generally, but the tree is definitely looking a lot healthier this spring.
The purple sprouting broccoli also seems to be thriving this year, in comparison with last. Whether it is, again, because of the netting or simply because I have sown the seeds much earlier, when there is more rain and less heat. However, if things continue as they are right now, I could have about twenty plants on my hands. Looks like I’ll be giving some away at this rate.
Growing out of chaos 
I never heard of copper around apple trees, does it work? Thanks for posting.
It seems to – I mean, I haven’t seen any of our snail/slug friends going for lunch up the tree since I put the copper round the trunk. My guess is that copper will work round anything. I cut into the edge of the copper round the bottom so that it had a jagged edge as I understand either slugs or snails can get over copper if it is smooth.