[sweetliberty]

"What I'd like to know is how to keep the seed that falls on the ground from molding..."

If they're not picking through it sufficiently to eliminate the excess (a lot of what ends up staying on the ground is the hulls), you might try hosing down the area every week or so.

[HairOfTheDog]

I do hose it down, I hose off the platform every day or two, spray down the visible mold, and I rake it... this mold (and sprouted seed) grows up overnight, or within hours, and adding more moisture to it probably just makes it grow back better. It's perhaps a NW fact of life, till the temps warm up a little. I just don't want to be killing birds, or making them sick, when they browse around down there if they eat that seed. I've thought of spraying it with a bleach mix before hosing it down... but then I'd probably just kill them with that.

Here's a closeup of what the ground underneath the platforms looks like, the greyish fuzz is the mold. I raked it a couple days ago.

One of my platforms where a squirrel was just a moment before when I was focusing. (Dang the shutter delay in digitals ;~D)

There he is.... wonderin' why I am interruptin' his breakfast.

[rahbert]

We have birdfeeders in Santa Fe and had a problem
with salmonella spreading among the birds during the
wet spring.

Many dead pine siskins... we were told that the fallen
seeds and husks need to be cleaned up to prevent this.

A whole class of dependent birds, but they are pleasant
see and hear (as well as entertaining for the cats to
watch through the windows).