5 Replies to “Grass that deters birds?”

  1. Sunday Puzzle eh
    Bit nerdy I know but I had spell breeding/selecting lawn grass.

    Seed treatment to help deter birds from feeding (on it)

    https://www.gardenhealth.com/gro-sure-multipurpose-lawn-seed#horizontalTab2

    Safety data sheet https://www.gardenhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Gro-Sure_Multi-Purpose_Lawn_Seed.pdf

    3.2 This mixture does not contain ingredients classified as hazardous substances

    There used to be various bitter sprays to protect vegetation from rabbit etc grazing.

    This is probably some food product, if non hazardous, but I thought birds could not taste pepper.

    I’ll leave that trail to someone else.

  2. I presume it means it has something which deters them eating the seed before it’s grown, rather than deterring birds from the grown grass.
    Why would you sow grass of unknown genetic provenance, just one species (boring), when you could have all the interest of finding out what species will grow naturally in ‘your’ space? #biogeography

  3. Some matters arising:

    Grass breeding and selection is an honourable endeavour and not nerdy in the least. The production of Astroturf seed is extremely difficult and represents a triumph of plant-based technology.

    If you don’t want to introduce a number of unknown grass species in unknown proportions with an unknown means of deterring birds from feeding on it when you have sown it then seek out a specialist company and buy single species or known species in known proportions.

    If a claim is made on a label that a vertebrate is deterred from feeding then it is arguable (or at least I would) that the product is regulated under COPR and the active ingrediment content and its safety data profile should be on the label or blurb somewhere. But it isn’t

  4. The other thing about this package that is somewhat enigmatic is the pictorial representation of the coverage provided by the pack. I am accustomed to seeing double-decker buses, elephants, blue whales, olympic swimming pools and Wales as units of measurement but it’s the first time I recall seeing the car used as a unit of area! What kind of car is it, I wonder? Is 10 square metres more family hatch-back territory or more executive saloon?

    1. and another thing … the Westland website goes into raptures about the company’s gender pay and modern slavery policies but omits to give us a clue about the species included in the pack. With no declaration this is a production manager’s Dream – the product can be whatever is most profitable on any day and no-one will know any different unless they are or employ a seeds analyst .

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