Punji Sticks

In my own little gonzo world of gardening, I realised quite early on that punji sticks were a really useful way of keeping pests out of my vegetable beds. You just need a really good source of sticks, and a lot of patience...

The trick is to get the spacing right to protect against pigeons, badgers and cats but allow small birds and hedgehogs to poke around. Use a combination of shorter 18-24" sticks (I find that last years strawberry canes are perfect for this job) with longer stout canes placed to protect against errant footballs and persistent beasties.