Would something like this keep crows away? http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Gardener-6050-DeerBlock-100-Foot/dp/B00004RA0N?ie=UTF8&keywords=fencing&qid=1463961522&ref_=sr_1_2&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-2
Yes, it would keep them off the plants. The issue I have with plastic mesh is that it’s hard to work with (wants to curl up) & being black, it’s hard to see. Last year, I put in metal fence posts around my raised beds & put up a plastic mesh fence. It was hard to mow around & a pain for me to get in the garden. This year, I draped some of the mesh from last year over the tomatoes, just to keep the crows off until I could come up with something more permanent. If you leave it on too long the tomatoes start growing through it & then it’s a real hassle to get it off the plants (been there, done that). I didn’t think they’d go after the zucchini & eggplants so I didn’t cover those & the rascals pecked a few of them up.
Yesterday, I started making a ‘fence’ using the plastic mesh from last year & another roll someone gave me. I’m making a frame of 3/4” PVC pipe (comes in 10’ lengths) & using zip ties to attach the mesh. The frames are really light & I can easily move them to mow or for access to the garden. I’m just tying them together with some cotton rope I’m re-purposing from an old hammock. The frames are 5’ wide and 3’ 4” tall. They sit about a foot off of the raised bed which keeps the crows from landing between the fence & the bed - same concept I used with last year’s fence. The crows would hop up to the fence and stare through it at the tomatoes they could no longer reach. :-) I’m a little worried the crows might try to land on the top of the fence/PVC - last year’s fence was just the plastic mesh stretched between fence posts so they couldn’t land on it. I’m leaving a row of mesh sticking up over the PVC with the edge cut off so it’s sort of “spikey” - that should discourage them.
Funny thing, after the morning visit by the crows (several times) yesterday, I haven’t seen them. They were not in the yard/field this morning & I was specifically watching for them. I suspect the new fence might be spooking them off for a while because it’s definitely making the garden area look different, but they’ll eventually come check it out. I worked on it about 4 hours this evening & probably have another day’s work to get it all done.
Thanks for the link!