31 DIY Bird Baths You Can Make Right Now – Backyard Vegetable Gardener (2024)

FAQs

Should I put a bird bath in my vegetable garden? ›

Birdbaths Bring More Beneficial Insects to Your Garden

Having a water source can actually attract thirsty insects like bees, butterflies, and wasps. These pollinators will come for the water but then stay to pollinate all your fruiting plants, which means you get bigger harvests.

A: Yes, placing a rock or several pebbles in your bird bath can be beneficial. It provides birds with a place to perch and makes deeper baths more accessible and safer, especially for smaller birds.

Insert the tomato cage in the garden and just lay the pot bottom on top and fill it with water. What I also love about the bird bath is it's so easy to clean. Just take off the top, wash it off, and refill it with water. The paint has held up nicely with no chipping.

Beyond reflective items, there are other decoy predators you can implement in your garden to deter birds from pestering your plants. Popular options include plastic owls, snakes, and even scarecrows.

Where to put a bird bath? Find a suitable location in the garden where the birds will be safe and you can see all the action. A good choice is on an open flat area, where there is no long grass or low bush for a cat to hide and pounce.

How to Prevent Algae in Bird Bath Water Features. Copper pennies may help if they're from before 1982 when copper was still the main material. You can also use other copper coins or copper tubing. Do not include fish in any water that has copper added to it.

To make a hanging bird bath, simply repurpose a hanging planter by placing an upside-down planter saucer on the top. Hang the bird bath from a sturdy branch. Then, add stones, glass beads or rocks and a couple inches of water. If you'd rather buy a prefabricated hanging bird bath, we get it.

By putting a few marbles in the center of your birdbath – or something that the insects can stand on and not be covered in water – bees and butterflies will be able to drink while visiting your flowers.

Choose a location that offers decent views for watching birds and is easily visible to birds in other parts of the yard so they will notice its availability. Cleanliness: A good bird bath position will help keep the water clean. Avoid putting baths beneath trees or shrubs that liberally shed blooms, seeds, or fruits.

The Birdbath Isn't in the Right Place

Much like we as humans look for convenient watering holes, birds are looking for easy—and safe—places to wet their beaks and bathe. If your birdbath is out in the open, with no cover or brush nearby, it's too risky a place for birds to use as a rest stop.

Can I use anything as a bird bath? ›

Galvanized trash can lids are perfect for bird bath basins, and if the lids are a bit bumped and dented, so much the better for a weathered look. Stones added inside the basin give birds more perching space and keep the lids sturdily in place.

Just buy a roll of bird netting (or deer netting) and wrap the plants all around. Use tall stakes to create a cage around the plant. Use generous proportions because tomatoes grow very fast and will grow through the mesh, making a mess.

Fertilizing the garden adds essential nutrients to the soil. This in turn provides plants with proper nourishment while birds provide natural fertilization with their feces. Bird waste is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, key nutrients for healthy plants.

OK, here's what a birdbath can do for your garden. Birds will come to your birdbath for the water they need — for drinking and for grooming. While they're hanging around they will hunt for the insects and worms and seeds and flower parts they like to eat.

There's no doubt that birds naturally help our gardens grow. Each species preys on various types of bugs that can be harmful and cause irreversible damage to our crops. Bluebirds, for example, prey on moths, larvae, crickets, and grasshoppers. Sparrows enjoy beetles, caterpillars, and cutworms.

Peas, lettuce, squash seedlings and cabbage family members seem to be the birds' favorites. These are the ones you will most want to protect. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, carrots and aromatic plants like mint and herbs are not often sought out by our feathered friends.