A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Birdseed taking root

I put up a couple bird feeders recently, and the seed that the birds spill on the ground has taken root. The seedlings are around & underneath a couple shrubs and a pepper plant (not in the lawn, though).
What can I use to kill the seedlings but not harm the plants? Will everyday weed killer
(weed-B-Gon, etc) do it?

Thanks-- Doug

welcome to the garden helper doug

if i were you, i would either leave the sprouts or pull them by hand after i watered the desired plants. the watering will make the sprouts easier to pull out. i would NOT use any kind of weed killer, especially around the pepper plants.

Doug B.,
Welcome to The Garden Helpers Forum!!!

Any chance of moving the bird feeder????
And letting the bird seed fall into the lawn.
And no headache with the sprouting seeds!!

That's what I did when I had feeders,
also, I got tired of the birds pooping on my
plants and ground area in the flower beds!!!

Weezie

I have the same situation, but since it's grass that comes up I don't know if a weed killer will work.

The deer in our wooded area are happy to take care of this problem. They love to graze on the birdseed "grass!"

This may not be a favorable or feasible solution for you. Just thought I'd throw this in for wildlife lovers.

Judith

Hi Doug,
I had the same problem and switched to sunflower kernels also called sunflower hearts. It's sunflower seed without the hulls and it doesn't sprout. The only place I've been able to find it is at a store that specializes in wild birds. There's a store called The Wild Bird Center and they do have stores in Texas.

http://www.wildbirdcenter.com/content/storesbystate/TX

Newt

For years I had the same "problem" with the birdseed taking root. I used to weed-eat, or mow the little rascal plants down without a shred or remorse everytime they poked their little heads up out of the soil...until 2 summers ago.

My youngest son was responsible for my change of heart. He was 6 at the time, and new at gardening (He's a pro now...hahaha). He had just begun his self-assigned duty of filling the birdfeeders every other day (We have ALOT of birds!!), and was very serious about his task. I had not been able to work in the yard as much as I liked for a couple of weeks due to my work schedule. When I finally was able to get out there and get busy, one of my first chores was to rip those "weeds" out from under our birdfeeders. Upon inspection I noticed that there were several sunflowers growing quite well already, and a multitude of other plants as well. The unusual thing was that someone (No points for guessing who!) had lovingly built a circle of rocks from our driveway around the "mess". The look of pride on my little boys face when he saw me discover his "secret garden" made me remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Since that day we make a special chore of preparing the soil underneath each and every birdfeeder so that he can grow his very own "bird garden", and I now see the beauty that my child dicovered all on his own, and was kind enough to share with me.

P.S. I read somewhere that if you micro-wave your birdseed for about 3 minutes prior to filling your feeders that it keeps them from sprouting, but doesn't change the nutritional value of the seeds....good luck!

Angelia,
What a GREAT STORY!!!

Thank~You for sharing that!!!

I am an organic gardener and am always thankful and grateful when I stories of that nature, no chemicals were used.. The kids are involved and
a wonderful story for future gardeners when they read the old posts!!!

Thanks Again!

Weezie

That is so sweet!

I will definitely try the microwave thing. I have a bad problem with the seeds sprouting, and it takes such a long time to pull all the sprouts up. Last year I left the sunflower seedlings and ended up with some HUGE sunflowers!

I cracked up when I saw this! This happened to me this year for the first time....I thought I was a "miracle" gardener!!! I had put new bird feeders in the middle of a flower bed...but I had mulched the bed with cedar shavings...the seeds sprouted in the shavings and then you can just lift them out easily.

Hey, I have a unique solution. Here is what I did with the same problem. I place a rabbit hutch besideand under the feeders and when seeds sprout it just helps fee my rabbits! And in the house I had the same problem with seed from my Lovebirds and Budgies falling all over the place so I place fish takes under and the seed becomes foliage and food for the fish and aquatic frogs.

Bunz,
But wouldn't the bird droppings be harmful to the fish?

Newt