Thrifty Thursday-Shard Feeders

We enjoy the daily visits of various birds in our garden.
A variety of plants allow our feathered friends to not only grace us with song,
but find cover from predators when needed or a place to build a home for future nest-building.
While we do provide some natural resources for water and food using native plants,
we also supplement with other forms of birdseed or fruit, like oranges.

 

The bird feeder we were using kept falling apart,
so it was time to think of something new.
The other problem we had was that a feral cat
started hanging out near the feeder.
It had already been chased out of our yard once,
dangling a bluejay in its mouth
(the bird was able to fly away).
Instead of buying a new feeder, 
I wanted to figure out some way of using what we already had laying around.



These terra cotta shards are usually used for drainage in the bottom of a container,
where the holes might be too big to keep the soil in the pot.
The idea came to me to use them as bird feeders.

The birdseed fits in it pretty well,
and the porous nature of the clay will help any water leech out.
They aren't sharp enough to harm the visitors.

One was tucked into an air plant that is hanging in one of our trees.
It fits snug as a bug.

Another was nestled into some tree branches.
I wasn't sure they would eat out of this one,
because it was so open with no surrounding shrubbery.
It is still pretty high off the ground,
away from feline claws.
They weren't a bit deterred,
and we've been able to watch cardinals, doves and mockingbirds feasting.

 

 Breakfast is served!

Check out these ideas at the Good Housekeeping website!

Making Seed Pots

I know you can buy those cute lil' peat pots that look

oh-so neat and tidy.  They appeal to an

organized gal like myself. 

But what is even more satisfying,

is knowing that I can make my own seed containers

with stuff just laying around the house.

This paper came in a package we received this week.

You can use newspaper too, if you like.

Any cup or glass will do, as long as it has a wide mouth.

Just fold the strips of paper over a couple of times lengthwise.

Total length doesn't really matter.

It's all gonna end up as compost anyway!

Set the cup or glass on the paper

with about 1" over the open end.

Roll, baby, roll!

What fun for the kids!

Tuck the top parts into the cup

and press it like a mold.

This will end up to be the bottom.

Remove the cup or glass and place the molded part

down on a flat surface.

Place the cup or glass back into the pot

and smash down with your hand.

This should give you a flat bottom.

Your pots should look somethin' like this.

I folded down the rims so that

they would stay together a bit better.

Place potting soil into the pots and plant your seeds!

I had some leftover eggshells, so I used those too.

Water lightly and keep moist until you see

green stuff popping up!

Once the seeds sprout,

you can place the entire pot into the ground. 

No need to transfer or uproot, which is great for plants

that don't like to be moved.

The whole kit-n-kaboodle will deteriorate with time,

and add nutrients to the soil.

This is a great homeschooling project. 

So easy to do and it's always wonderful

when you can make something useful yourself.

Happy sprouting, y'all!