we get a good selection of birds on our feeders throughout the year, often with grounf-feeders collecting up seed dropped from the feeders etc.
BUt what the do not eat Grows as WEEDS !
I have been lightly baking the seed in a cool oven - this effectiively kills the seed. The birds do not seem to object to having their food lightly baked - i cannot imagine that it affects the nutritional value - but i would appreciate comments
regards patsy
If you are lucky ... you get the odd sunflower .. my brother did! ;o)
Ant
"IT IS SAID THAT LIFE FLASHES BEFORE YOUR EYES BEFORE YOU DIE. THAT IS TRUE, IT'S CALLED LIVING."Death - Terry Pratchett (The Last Continent).
Hi Patsy,you are probably right regarding nutrition but i have never interfered with the seeds.I know now a days you can buy no grow seed but it doesn't appeal to me.
I just changed to white sunflower hearts and dont have any hassle at all.Goldfinches do make a lot of mess but the Woodpigeons and Doves, as well as the small birds hoover it all up.It is so popular, and i don't have any waste.
An optimist sees the beauty of the complete rose.A pessimist sees only the thorn .
We have lots of sunflower seeds from the feeders turning into flowers also the niger seeds that drop from the feeders have taken root and made a very thick cushion effect in the grass. Not sure whether to leave them or dig them out. Will they produce anything if left?
My pigeons, starlings and jackdaws do a lot of clearance work but I hoe under the feeders where the growth would be very dense and weed where I really don't want any extra plants. Otherwise I quite like having mystery plants popping up around the garden. We had lots of sunflowers this year and while I was clearing round my bird bath/pond I watched a blue tit doing acrobatics, feeding on a clump of grain which had got planted in a flower bed nearby. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I would be quite interested to know what nyger is like, but most of what falls seems to be empty husks.
I've got 5 or 6 lovely hemp plants growing in my garden now! :-)
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Until this spring my spilt seed fell on rough ground but this has become a new border.
As much as I was eager to see what the seed grew into it all became to much for the plants in the new border so I have spent hrs liberating my plants from all the wee seedlings esp the niger plants. The kids kept some of the sunflower seedlings.
Think that I will have to find a new hanging spot for the feeders! 'shrug'
Its finding somewhere that gives the birds an escape route from the sparrowhawk!!
'In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks' John Muir.
Excuse wobbily dyslexic spelling!
Rockwolf said: I've got 5 or 6 lovely hemp plants growing in my garden now! :-)
We have been getting a few hemp plants too - we were very puzzled until we worked out where they were springing from!
I've had all sorts cropping up as a result of spilled bird seed - honestly, more goes on the ground than in the birds, they are such messy eaters!! I clear up most of it because it just goes mouldy and smelly otherwise, but the few "lucky ones" which get spread further afield have managed to sprout. This year I had a lovely unexpected sunflower growing up from between the paving slabs under one feeder - that's a picture of it in my avatar! We also had lots of charlock and wheat grown from spilled seed, which I have left to its own devices - the greenfinches especially have been enjoying that over the past few weeks and months :)
I dont know answer to weeds as ive tried different foods including so call non grow and still find that there is growth of one sort or another.
I tried last a bag of seed ?? From a well known garden centre and found wheat growing abundantly.
I decided to check out weight/volume of useless wheat per bag and found that it contained approx 40% Wheat.that us very expensive waste as non of garden birds eat and even the pidgeons and doves refused it.
Suppliers use wheat and other useless seed as fillers of which I find is a Very Expensive Rip
Off and a Con.
Im still carrying out a survey and will report back in future.
JonBoy