Seed Guard

This is a design I created that I've  already been using for many years. I use this to protect newly planted seeds and seedlings. I will be adding more pics and info to this as the season progresses. I'm getting this out now and quickly because its planting season as of this writing and if you're a gardener this may be helpful.

In a nutshell: Its a perforated tube with a flange at the bottom , 120mm tall. The flange is slightly buried in the ground and a seed or seedling can be placed in the centre of the tube.

Perforations in the tube allow wind, water and sun to get to the seeds. The flange can be buried deep enough to provide overall stability or use garden rocks on the ground over  the flange.  I've been using this annually to grow sunflowers, and it has successfully deterred squirrels and other animals. 

May 15/25:

Sunflowers are planted, so I was able to get better pics of how I use the seed guard. This year I used 2" square Jiffy pots. When the seedlings were ready I cut the bottom out of the pot to assist the roots. Since the pot is square & the guard is round, I made a cut down one side of the pot which allowed me to squeeze it in from the bottom. I will be making a square version of the guard to accommodate the Jiffy pots. 

Noteworthy: I've gotten  2-3 years of life out of these. I print mine in PLA and have had no issues.  The guard is actually four individual “fingers”. These can be broken off if they interfere with the plant.

May 17/25

Created a preliminary version of the seed guard for the square 2" jiffy pots. This version is not final, but I did get some out in the garden to test out. Very usable now, but not final.

Cheers

[NjB]