Protect Tomato Plants From Birds By Repurposing Old Christmas Ornaments

Growing your own food can be extremely rewarding but also pretty stressful. After all, if you're growing particularly vibrant crops like tomatoes, you might find yourself being inundated with airborne invaders. Various bird species such as crows, robins, sparrows, and pigeons are highly attracted to juicy ripe tomatoes thanks to their bright red color. Luckily, there's a quick fix for this problem to keep your tomato plants thriving, which requires little more than a simple tomato cage and some standard Christmas ornaments.

The hack is simple: Hang a few bright Christmas ornaments on the cage to draw attention away from the edible nightshades. Once the birds take a few pecks at the ornaments, they'll surmise that the plant is a culinary dead end and hopefully take their appetite to your simple bird feeder or your neighbor's garden. This not only saves your tomatoes from certain destruction, but it also offers a great way to repurpose ornaments that are on their last legs and not quite pretty enough to go on the tree this winter. While this isn't necessarily a perfect one-size-fits-all hack, it has certainly worked for a number of home gardeners in the past, and it offers a cost-effective solution to an age-old problem. There are a few caveats worth noting to make sure that this trick is a success, however, so be sure to read ahead if you're interested in keeping your local airborne bandits at bay

Before rushing to your garden with a variety of festive holiday decorations, there are a few things to keep in mind. For starters, be sure to only use bright red ball ornaments as these mimic the look of a ripe tomato and detract from the inviting allure of your actual fruits. A glittery Santa Claus dangling from the tomato cage might look cute, but it won't exactly trick the crows into thinking they're pecking at a freshly grown piece of produce. Also, be sure to use plastic or vinyl ornaments in place of glass. You wouldn't want any of the birds to cut themselves on the sharp edges if they manage to break the piece or drop any shards into the garden bed below.

Perhaps most importantly, place the ornaments on the tomato cage long before the plants have reached maturity — in other words, when the tomatoes are still green. You'll want to lure the birds in before the tomatoes are even appealing to them so that they go right for the ornaments instead. With any luck, the whole neighborhood will be chirping about the faux fruits by the time that the plants are flowering, meaning birds will have lost interest entirely when the tomatoes are ready to be picked. 

Lastly, skip the flimsy hooks provided by most Christmas ornament manufacturers, and go for something a bit sturdier like zip ties or twine. This will ensure that your ornaments remain in place throughout the season, even after taking a few aggressive pecks from avians of all shapes, sizes, and color. If all else fails, you could always deter birds with a few other simple tricks such as scarecrows and reflective tape.