Here’s a sneaky one: plant a decoy crop. I’m serious. Dedicate a little corner of your garden to something pigeons love more than your good stuff. Sunflower seeds or leftover corn. Let them gorge there while your real veggies stay safe.
Or, go the other way. Plant strong-smelling herbs like lavender, rosemary, or mint. Pigeons have sensitive noses. They don’t want their fancy buffet smelling like a spa. They’ll fly off to find a blander garden.
Thorny bushes work too. Roses, holly, or barberry. Create a natural fence of “Ouch.” Pigeons have delicate little feet. They will not walk through a thorny gauntlet for a single pea.