Broccoli

[gingerneil]

I tried to grow calabrese last year, it did well until it got completely munched by caterpillas....
I am trying again this year - the calabrese and purple sprouting are both about 4 inches high so far. At what stage do I need to start putting fleece over them to stop the little buggers ? Or is there a better method ?

[Paulottie]

The pigeons have been known to eat them along with slugs deer flea-beetle and rabbits. So i would fleece them yes and i have already seen cabbage whites. But by the time you get to summer they will be too bit for fleece. The only real reliable method (non-chemical) is to pick off and destroy the eggs. You need to be pretty vigillant

[Cutecumber]

Enviromesh (fine flexible netting) is your other option, and it's cooler in the summer heat - but it is really expensive I have a couple of large pieces but it's not enough. The last three years I have just hunted and squashed caterpillar eggs - at least twice a day, every day. That's fine for a small crop of cabbages, but you can't get into the heads of broccoli, so I don't recommend it. I don't use chemicals, but someone else may be able to help you on what you could use.

As for when to cover them, I have seen one small cabbage white butterfly (my nemesis!) so far this year, but it's not usually until the end of May that they usually start laying (I am in south east London). My brassica seedlings in pots are uncovered at the moment (although I have roofly protection mats around them). I will cover them in the next two or three weeks.

[balliol]

If youve got rhubarb growing put the leaves in some water for a week or two and water all brasiccas with that and it should keep the damn things off! read it somewhere, seems to work!

[gingerneil]

If youve got rhubarb growing put the leaves in some water for a week or two and water all brasiccas with that and it should keep the damn things off! read it somewhere, seems to work!

I have rhubarb growing right next to it !
I'll give it a go..
although I'm not against a chemical attack either.

[rustylady]

As far as I'm concerned, the minute you plant your brassicas out in the open is the time to cover them with anything you can get hold of to keep the pests off.

[Mrs Dobby]

We planted 5 types of brassica out earlier this week, and have immediately covered them over with a lovely Heath Robinson netting support system, consisting of cut down bamboo canes topped with bottles, cans and plastic cups, with the netting draped over and secured with bricks and pegs, we've seen a few cabbage whites sniffing round, but none of them have been able to get at the brassicas yet, so hopefully the improvised cane supports will do the job! Piccies below show the brassica covering system, hope its of some help!

[JennieAtkinson]

Having had so many problems last year with cabbage white I have worked quite hard on my brassica bed this year and made eight large hoops from the heavy duty blue water hose (stick small bamboo sticks into the ground first then put the hoops over them.). I've then covered them with Environmesh. As you say Cutecumber it is expensive, but I think it is worth it. So the cabbages are planted out now, and I've covered everything all ready. I'm not leaving anything to chance. I spent alot of time lastyear, every morning picking eggs off the leaves, so I'm not chancing anything this year. I also have a HUGE rhubarb bed growing almost adjacent, and it doesn't seem to help. I used leaves for a rhubarb watering last year, but again the problem might have been too far gone to have any effect.

[GeordieVik]

morning all, possibly daft question - having never grown brassicas before, I have no idea how tall they get, and therefore how much mesh I need to buy to cover this bed. The bed is 8' long x 4' wide



or would I be ok with doing away with the frame, and just lying enviromesh on the top of the plants?

Help, I have no idea!

Vik

[TPeers]

You must have a frame - if you just drap the enviromesh the butterflies can still sit on the leaves to lay eggs!

You will need 2-3' of height so assuming that you will lay the stuff across the width of the bed, in strips, 2+4+2=8, 8-10 foot lengths, and depending on the width of the fabric probably two lengths.

Hope this helps!

[TPeers]

Sorry, the sum in case it is too early for you.

Required height plus width of bed plus required height

This gives the 'strip length' then multiply by number of strips required calculated as

(required height plus length of bed plus required height) divided by width of fabric.

Round up to the next whole number. i.e. 2.4 is three lengths, it is better to have too much!

Terry

[Earthbabe]

My main concern when I plant out will be pigeons initially and I'll be going for the blue hoops and pea netting until the plants are big enough and there is plenty else for the flying rats to eat. After that it will be pick and squish as often as I can. If they get away from me it's burn baby burn I'm afraid. Sorry!

[chickenjane]

As far as I'm concerned, the minute you plant your brassicas out in the open is the time to cover them with anything you can get hold of to keep the pests off.

So do the cabbage fly lay even when the poor little seedlings haven't developed a stem yet?

[TPeers]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Paulottie]

I have had over five years of depressing results with all manner of brassicas. we are on sandy soil here and frankly everything eats them. Usually do ok until we go on holiday in August but have never found a plant-sitter vigillant enough to pick catapillars and if there is the slightest hole in the protection ...Chantilly lace... but they are always getting too big to cover by then and even if you do cover/uncover/cover/uncover... what a fag! them molluscs are working away unseen!

Every year I say 'never again.' but i'm stubborn so summer cabbage, (golden acre and Hispi) I start early in modules, fleece/cloche up and am cropping before the catapillars really get going. Usually the brussels and p.sprouting recovers at the end of the summer and i can often get away with (Durham early) spring cabbages.

This year I am determined to grow a cauliflower. So i'm a little upset that rhubarb method is ineffectual...Has anyoneone had better results with it than Jennie? Saw that 'Terry' (ex Big dig and radio 2) trying it.