How to feed birds in you hydroponic garden.
Well, you have got them there, how do you keep them in your garden………………
As I have said don’t break the bank feeding the birds…..
You don't have to buy expensive seed mixes or fancy suets to attract birds to your garden, you don't even need a feeder. scraps and leftovers you have right now in your kitchen. Fruit, fat, bread, grains and vegetables all are candidates. The birds will love them.
Make a simple tray feeder from an old baking pan or a plastic plant saucer. Just nail it to a post or secure it to a deck railing and you're ready to go--tilt it or poke several holes in the bottom to aid drainage. If you want a fancier one, make a 12 inch by 20 inch frame from cedar or redwood 1x2s and staple screening on the bottom.
Even on the ground…bits of carrot,potato even off cuts from your -herb garden.Just watch them. They will have ago at almost anything.
Whichever you choose, the birds will learn to check it regularly for treats and before long you might spy cardinals, doves, finches, chickadees, titmice, jays and mockingbirds eating from it. It's not sophisticated but the birds won't notice..
If you're worried about hurting their diet, don't. Birds need protein, fats and sugars too, and variety in their diet is good for them. There are a few basic rules about what NOT to feed them, though. Moldy or decaying fruit is out, but soft, spotty or bruised fruit is fine. When the weather warms up keep a closer eye on food you put on your feeder. Throw away anything the birds don't eat before it spoils and clean your tray regularly to prevent disease.
Many birds love fruit (if you've ever tried to grow blueberries or strawberries, you can vouch for this). They'll eat peels, scraps and cores from apples and pears, raisins that are too dried out for your family, any kind of berry and bananas that are past their prime (but not moldy).
Melons and melon seeds are great, too. Put pieces of the fruit on your feeding table, rinse the pulp off the seeds and toss them on too.Many sweet-loving birds like orioles love oranges. You can add a spike to your table (a nail pounded through from the other side) and spike the orange.
If you have that last little bit of jam that no one wants to eat, put it on a saucer (or a jar lid) and add it to your table. They'll love leftover cooked cereal like oatmeal or grits (you know YOU'RE not going to eat them). Instead of throwing away the last-of-the-box-cereal crumbs toss them to the birds. You can even feed them cheese--not moldy parts, of course, but fresh or the hardened, dried-out chunks that you'd normally, well. . .chunk.
Give them bones (birds need calcium, too) and rinsed, air-dried and crumbled eggshells. They love most kinds of grains and any kind of nuts (rinse them if they're spicy). Leftover rice is okay, too (the raw stuff DOESN'T swell in their stomachs and kill them--that's a myth). They prefer it cooked.
Remember, all this is making your hydroponic garden a beautiful natural place for you to live and work at your wonderful hobby……..
Any type of bread is great on your feeder tray or tossed on the ground--stale biscuits and bread, crusts, crackers, cornbread, pancakes, bagels, French toast--even doughnuts. Popcorn, of course, is great. Salt is okay--birds need some of that.
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You can also make inexpensive suet from fat drippings you might otherwise throw away or from leftover shortening from frying. Suet is easy to make and it's an especially fun project for kids. You can pack it into pinecones, smear it on the bark of a tree or make muffin-sized cakes in your muffin tin. A mesh or net onion or orange bag makes a great holder for the cakes--just tack it to a tree or hang it from a branch. Give the birds a few days to find it, then watch and enjoy!
Easy Suet Recipe
TWO cups shortening or drippings
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup birdseed
Melt the shortening and peanut butter in a large saucepan, then remove it from the heat and add the oatmeal and birdseed and mix well. Pour into a muffin pan and let set overnight.
It will keep for 6 months. Try grains, nuts, flour and cornmeal in your suet, too. You can even use canned or dried cat or dog food--that's right, they like dog food (just ask the grackles on my back porch). It provides a good source of protein. Experiment to see what your visitors like best. You may even catch a woodpecker or two trying it out. When you feed the birds, you're providing them nourishment and yourself some enjoyment and education. Let kids put the scraps on the table, give them some inexpensive binoculars and a bird identification book and you'll start them on a lifetime of nature appreciation.
DONT FORGET THE KIDS
BENEFITS OF GARDENING FOR KIDS
Apparently, we can see how nature is treated these days. It is a sad thing to know that people do not pay attention so much anymore to the environmental problems. What can we do about this? It's as simple as starting with the children. It is good to see the children's involvement with environment-friendly activities. One such nature-loving activity that children could easily get their hands on is gardening. Why should you consider gardening for your children?
Here are the benefits that gardening could easily provide the children with:
1. Science
In planting, children are indirectly taught the wonders of science like the plant's life cycle and how human's intervention can break or make the environment. They can have a first hand experience on the miracle of life through a seed. This would definitely be a new and enjoyable experience for the kids.
2. Life
Watching a seed grow into a tree is just as wondrous as the conception to birth and growth of a child. In time, kids will learn to love their plants and appreciate the life in them. Gardening could actually help simulate how life should be treated -- it should be with care. The necessities to live will be emphasized to kids with the help of gardening - water, sunlight, air, soil. Those necessities could easily be corresponded to human necessities, i.e., water, shelter, air, food. By simply weeding out, one could educate how bad influences should be avoided to be able to live life smoothly.
3. Relaxation
Studies show that gardening can reduce stress because of its calming effect. This is applicable to any age group. More so, it stimulates all the five senses. Believe it or not, gardening may be used as therapy to children who have been abused or those who are members of broken homes. It helps build one's self-esteem.
4. Quality Time with the Family
You can forget about your stressful work life for a while be soothed by the lovely ambience in the garden. You can play and spend quality time with your children. You can talk while watering the plants or you can work quietly beside each other. The bottom line is, always do what you have to do, together with your kids. You might discover a lot of new things about your child while mingling with them in your garden.
Let kids become aware of their environment's needs. And one way to jumpstart that environmental education may be through gardening. It's hitting two birds with one stone -- teach them to respect life while you bond with them.
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