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Vegetable Gardening

Do birds eat radishes?

13 years ago

Weird question, I know. I'm a newbie (that's my defense). I have some Easter egg radishes coming up and they were doing fine. I checked on them this weekend and they have some damage on the sides. I thought maybe bugs but I notice it's mostly on the red ones and not all of them have it. I did notice a bird in my veggie bed the other day looking pretty interested but I didn't know what he was looking for. I thought he was bug hunting but now I'm suspicious. Could he be trying to pick at my radish? Should I cover them with netting?

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Comments (4)

gardendawgie
13 years ago
caterpillars come up from the soil at night and feast on your plants. go out with a small flashlight just after dark and all night. pluck them off and drop in a can of water. they will sink and die under water. or squish them in your fingers. kind of messy.

it is a little slow at first. but with practice you will spot them immediately and easily. your eye will train to spot them. they chomp on leaves also.

birds look for them to eat. they love to eat caterpillars.
tastytravels
Original Author
13 years ago
How big are these caterpillars? Thanks for the info. I'll keep an eye out for them. I was convinced it was the bird thinking it was a ripe berry.
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veeta
13 years ago
I thought the same thing--as I've definitely seen robins in the bed, and the radishes have peck marks. I guess this happens as they are in pursuit of insects. They even uproot the small radishes and other seedlings sometimes.
kurt_in_sw
13 years ago
Late answer, but yes, birds do eat radish seedlings, so they probably will take a bite of the root as well. I have Easter Egg variety growing in containers along with what should be more tasty--young lettuce--and the birds eat only the radish tops. They have triangular bite marks--"bill-shaped" wedges--taken out of the seed leaves. It's unmistakable. They seem to prefer the cotyledons to true leaves, they eat them exclusively (which is a good thing). I've read that birds will leave them alone once the plants mature. (Since they are in containers, I can use netting.) I suspect a large colony of House Sparrows that live right near my deck.

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