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Small white butterflies!

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  • #1

    Small white butterflies!

    So further to my post in what I did today, I made this frame

    Click image for larger version Name: 20190602_121224 (2).jpg Views: 1 Size: 141.3 KB ID: 2407511
    Click image for larger version Name: 20190602_121158 (4).jpg Views: 1 Size: 117.7 KB ID: 2407512

    It's 90cm tall 140cm wide and 3m long. There is plenty of height and width for the two rows of brassicas planted without fear of them touching the edges. In addition the enviromesh cover is a single piece with no cuts, splits or joins. Folded at the corneds and weighed down at the bottom (on the far side semi permanantly, so access can only be made from the visible side when needed).

    So why have I got those pesky little white butterflies and white patches appearing under the leaves. In addition a green caterpillar had been snacking on one of the plants.

    I had high hopes for the expense and effort of this brassica cage, it's just over a month since it was setup and last night was the first and only opening made into it.

    I have applied neem oil spray to the plants in the meen time. I welcome peoples thoughts and comments.
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  • #2
    Did you plant the brassicas before you built the frame?

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    • #3
      Yes I planted first by a couple of days. It is over a month now so I would have thought way beyond the life cycle of the pests. Perhaps I'm wrong.
      All comments and ideas welcome.

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      • #4
        Are they butterflies or white flies as you said in your other post? https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ml#post1665711

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        • #5
          White patches sounds like leaf miner rather than cabbage white caterpillars. Didn't even know there was a brassica leaf miner until a lot of leaves took damage this year. Not much of a problem unless it's a crop whose leaves you eat. It's been a bad year for leaf miners in general, I think.

          Could be that the caterpillars overwintered as pupae in the soil. I got a load of different brassica caterpillars under the Enviromesh last year even though it was in place from early Spring and weighed down all around the edges.

          Small white circles on the underside of leaves is cabbage whitefly. They have no problem getting through standard size Enviromesh. I'm not using Enviromesh on the brassicas this year as it keeps out predatory insects like ladybirds and hoverflies whose larvae stop aphid populations getting out of hand.

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          • #6
            Well we're back from a weeks jaunt Oop t'north. Lovely part of the country you have there. We did Beamish, Cragside, Alnmouth, Seahouses, Bamburgh and then settled in Harrogate for a couple of days.

            So before the expedition I twice applied Neem oil and dish soap as a spray and I seem to have got rid of the tiny white flies and caterpillers (I did a manual pick too).

            However some of the leaves on all the brassicas have turned light brown as if scorched by the sun. Spraying took place in the evenings so I don't think the sun is responsible. So I have to assume I laid it on too thick, has anyone else had similar experience?
            Fresh growth from the hearts seems unaffected so no loss of production, I'm just intreagued because it sorted the pest problem, but I am hesitant to re-use in case I do permanant damage.

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