We are birding fanatics as I have blogged many times before. We have bird feeders in trees in our yard and atop posts in our perennial gardens. When my wife and I see a new style feeder or we get the urge to try and attract more species of birds to our yard, we just hang more feeders. In the past we only purchased no-grow seed; a few years back I purchased some seed from our local bird store and all of a sudden we had little plants sprouting everywhere. While no-grow seed is more expensive, it also limits the variety of birds that will come to our yard and feed. We also have squirrels galore (we also feed them) and when they get into a bird feeder they spread seed everywhere.

Last year I read in an issue of Birds & Bloom magazine that by heating the birdseed in a microwave before placing the seed into a feeder will prevent the spilled seed from sprouting. I decided to give it a shot. I put a pound of birdseed in our microwave on high for two minutes, let it cool and then placed it in the feeders. I'm happy to report it worked. Now we can feed the birdseed we want without constantly weeding our garden beds. The article stated that you can also use a conventional oven to bake the seed. Spread a thin layer on a cookie sheet or similar type baking pan and bake at 250 degrees for 30 minutes.