Kitchen Garden Forum

After tending my first planting ever of Radish which were growing beautifully I came down this morning to find Catapillars of different shades having a feast. Having spent most of my time chasing off cabbage white butterfly.

Which is good exercise!

What can I do to a deter them and save my crop?

Or is there bo hope other than picking the little blighters of and sticking them on the ivy bush.

Best wishes

Debs

Cover with butterfly netting but make sure you first remove any eggs or caterpillars already on the plants!

Hi daxtell71!

You are certainly getting a baptism of fire with the naughty things finding your crops. I don't have too much problem with radish except for flea beetle, but enough other challenges like blight etc. Just in case you have any planted also cover your leeks as they get leek moth damage which is gross with the grubs tunnelled through layers of your wonderful plant & they can collapse the whole thing!

On a positive these have a season & then die off because of the cold & you can uncover things & your space doesn't seem quite such a miss-mash of creative solutions but a proper display that your toil & sweat created!

Just noticed one radish has started to flower! Is this a good thing or do I need to remove like with Rhubarb? Thanks

If it flowers, it's already too late. The radish will be hard and inedible. Make sure you give the whole lot a good watering - radishes are thirsty things. They want to grow fast and lush without dry spells.

It is bolting & will be tough as a root but the other option is let them seed as apparently the seed pods taste good. I've not tried them but read about them, but somehow forget & toss the radish when it flowers instead of giving them a try. Check it out & let them seed! Better to use part than waste & things I have read say not as hot as the radish but still mustard tasting & good in salads & stir fries!

Actually thanks for bringing this up as forgot completely & have a wee bed of radish behaving badly!