Blueberry netting sources?

General Fruit Growing
#1

I’m looking for sources for blueberry netting and I didn’t see any info in the resources section.

For years, I’ve been using 10 ft. pvc pipe as arches to hold the netting. Then I had to expand to a 10 ft section and a 5 ft. section for a total of 15 ft hoops/arches. I was able to get by somehow with my grapevine netting that I think was listed as 7 ft wide.

For this year, I think I’m going to have to expand to 2 - 10 ft. sections of pvc so I’ll need netting that can cover a 20 ft. radius. I probably need 50 - 75 ft in length.

Does anyone have a good source for large sized netting?

Thanks!
Bart

#2

Few members here recommended nettings from below website. I bought two large nets in 2017. So far happy with them. Check out their website, they have different sizes to choose from.

1 Like
#3

AM Leonard company
Growers Supply
should be able to
search for them online.

#4

I wonder how durable this netting is compared to this one. My grandfather’s netting was the same netting for decades. His was a pretty heavy duty fabric netting, the color was black (not that color matters). There were only a few holes that emerged over the years which were easily fixed. No idea where he got them from. When I asked his brother in law, who had the same netting, about it he mentioned that it was from some place in NJ and that they’ve lost the catalog they got it from. Wherever that came from could very well be out of business.

Not cheap, but if the American Nettings stuff has to be replaced every x number of years and the Grower’s Supply stuff lasts for decades then it’s cheaper in the long run.

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#5

I’ve used the same pieces of 30% woven black polypropylene shade cloth for 40 yrs. It’s still useable either as bird netting, shade cloth, hail screen, etc. Knitted is lighter and cheaper but the woven doesn’t hang up on plants or snag birds. I’ve never had a bird caught in this stuff.

There are many sources, types, and percentages of shade for these things. 30% allows normal plant growth.

Include shade cloth in your search for bird netting.

Here’s what I have: https://www.shadeclothstore.com/products/wovenshadecloth30__wovenshadecloth.html

2 Likes
#6

Thanks for the links and info, folks!

For future reference, here’s some prices and costs that I found. I prefer green netting to black, just for looks, but it seems that many places only offer black.

Tractor Supply: Plastic netting, 1" mesh, black color, 14’ X 100’, $89.99 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/bird-x-heavy-duty-plastic-bird-netting-100-ft-x-14-ft-roll

A.M. Leonard: Woven netting (I think), 0.79" mesh, black color, 14’ X 100’, $83.99

American Nettings: Knitted netting, 0.75" mesh, green color, 15’ X 100’, $88.79

Growers Supply: Woven netting, 1" mesh, black color, 25’ X 100’, $205.95

And just for fun…
Bird Be Gone: Woven netting, 0.75" mesh, 25’ X 100’, black, white, stone color, 25’ X 100’, $750.00!!

(Full disclosure: Bird Be Gone is heavy duty netting, while the rest were light weight, but still!!)

#7

Hey Fruitnut - Thanks for the response. Do you have any idea how plants react to shade cloth vs netting? I know that netting provides a tiny bit of shade, but I’m worried that 30% shade may end up slowing or diminishing the plants growth/production.

Have you ever done a comparison on plants using shade cloth vs. netting?

#8

No I haven’t. And I’m in a high sun climate. Still I can’t see 30% affecting production by much in any climate. Especially if just used for a few weeks to protect the fruit. For a few weeks it will have no effect.

My greenhouse has only 50% or less of outdoor light levels and fruit production and fruit quality is very high. It doesn’t take as much light as I used to think to produce very high yields of most crops. Corn, a C3 crop, responds more to high light than C4 crops like trees and bushes. Still the world record yields of corn are being made on the east coast with more clouds not in high sunshine areas like the plains or southwest.

#9

Thanks for the info! Lately, I’ve been leaving my netting up all year because it’s such a pain to put it up and take it down.

#10

I like this one a lot : http://www.7springsfarm.com/avigard-3-4-diamond-mesh-bird-netting-premium-flex-long-life-17-ft-x100-ft/
Price is affordable, width is good to cover one row of bushes with one piece. It even has yellow stripes along the middle, that makes installation much easier from evenness perspective. Durable as well. I have it for 3 years already.

3 Likes
#11

Thanks, Bart.
I use the 50 % shade cloth, or maybe it’s 45 I forget, as a TARP to put over plants or whatever as I go 70 miles an hour down the road! Works perfect.

As to what’s best for plants…for fruit trees, the lighter grades (less shading) would be preferable…but not quite as durable probably. As you probably have seen, some plants at the garden center really thrive under shade cloth! But, what’s good for hostas or camillas is too much shade for fruit.

I’ve used the same two pieces I mentioned above for a tarp for at least 5 years now…and use them every week practically in some capacity.

#12

Thanks!!! That’s a fantastic price! (40 bucks for those who don’t feel like clicking the link :wink: