Grow Your Own Magazine

I went to harvest first of the calabrese this morning - it looked great, nice firm heads etc... BUT when I actually cut it it is infested with little bugs. The same type I often rub off my roses. The while plants are covered and I am sure they were not like this a few days ago.

I am gutted. All the plants are affected some to a greater extent. I cannot think how I did not notice this before, except they are the exact same shade and colour as the plant.

I tried washing some off but then nobody fancied eating it.

It doesn't seem to have affected the caulis yet which are almost ready.

What can I do next year to prevent this happening again? If I cut all the heads off and spray with washing up liquid will the side shoots form and be ok?

The chap next door told me he has given up on brassicas cos of the butterflies - I was well chuffed to think I had escaped them! (had them netted) and now it seems I have bene struck down by a different pest.

janeyo

Oh No! Are you definitely not going to eat it? I have just had the same experience with my first cauli... absolutely covered in little bugs and caterpillars but I am still going to eat it. Currently have it soaking in a bucket of salty water. Since growing my own I have become much more tolerant of bugs and bad bits i.e. they get washed off or cut out... in the past, if it had come from a shop I would have returned it or thrown it away.

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pjh75

We sow the seed, nature grows the seed, we eat the seed.

If it was just a couple of bugs then I would eat them but they have actually damaged the stems as they have been sucking all the sap out or whatever it is they do and they really don't look attractive at all. From a distance they look fine! Maybe I should take my glasses off to eat them lol.

I will see if any are less damaged and try soaking them in salt water. Trouble is the ones that are not ready yet will have gone the same way if I leave them on the plant but they are not ready to be cut.

janeyo

What a shame if you can't use any of them . I haven't cut into my cauli yet, so I don't know what it will look like inside... just keeping my fingers crossed.

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pjh75

We sow the seed, nature grows the seed, we eat the seed.

They will be Mealy Cabbage Aphids. Not the same as on your roses, but similar.Brassicas that have finished cropping should be dug in or pulled up and removed to reduce the overwintering population.

Insecticides containing bifenthrin (Scotts Bug Clear Gun, Doff All In One Garden Pest Killer or Bayer Sprayday Greenfly Killer Plus) should give good control but can only be used once during the growing season on brassicas. Provado Ultimate Bug Killer can be used on leafy brassicas up to the eight true leaf stage of growth.

Organic insecticides containing pyrethrum, fatty acids or plant oils and extracts can be used without restrictions on the number of applications or stage of growth.

The Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: Mealy Cabbage Aphid

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