Cabbages - again and again.

[Catherine]

These cabbages better be damn good the time and effort they have been taking me. I planted out 24 April cabbages, 12 Primo and 12 Greyhound. The ones I have left I am going to put in large pots because I have no ground left to put them into. But when I came to put my netting up I found it would not reach all round the bed I am using this year. So until this afternoon they are at the mercy of the cabbage white. Also I cannot find my little collars I used last year. Do I have to spray before I put the netting over and am I wasting my time with the collars after one day. Sorry to keep asking but I have never had good cabbages and caulies so this time I want to make every effort to make sure these work. Thank you for your patience.

[PLUMPUDDING]

If you can't see any cabbage white butterflies then your cabbages are safe now they are netted. If you think they might have been under the net then look for eggs and squash them. It is easier than spraying everything just in case.

I should put the collars on a.s.a.p I'm sure most if not all the cabbages are OK.

Perhaps I'm lucky but I don't spray or use collars or nets and get very nice cabbages. I do keep a close watch for butterfly eggs and caterpillars. My father used to give the cabbages a spray with very dilute salt solution when he saw any caterpillars, also if the spray is powerful enough you can wash any insects off. Hope I'm not tempting fate, but even the Wood pigeons don't touch the greens. They have a good feed on the bird table a couple of times a day, splash about in the bird bath and stroll round the veg patch, but don't eat anything else.

Just going out to check!!!

Another thought, have you made the ground round your cabbages nice and firm? They like hard ground.

[Monika]

We net all our brassicas the moment they are planted but only against birds (particularly a rapacious pheasant which decapitates the plants but doesn't even eat them - what a waste!). Cabbage whites can get through the netting but, like Plumpudding, we squash the eggs and collect the caterpillars.

We have never used collars (I think they would blow away) but I pile up the dry soil against the stem.

[Catherine]

Thanks Monika and PLumbpudding. We have just got back from the lottie and god was it cold tonight. I have been to LBS and bought some collars. I have never put collars round my cabbages before but I am doing this time because I have been unable to grow decent sized cabbages before and I am determined to grow them this year. I have decided against covering with mesh, partly because of the cost of the stuff. It will not make it worth growing the things if it costs more to protect them.

Because of my OH's ongoing knee problem, he has set himself back a few weeks because he insisted on digging one of our beds so we could plant the cabbages. We will not be able to get any more beds dug for a while, I have been and bought some 12" pots again LBS. I have planted up some butternut squash and gourds in them with compost and manure. Hopefully they will be okay. We have planted all our strawberries into grow bags and I have transplanted all my beetroot, I started in little modules. But other things will have to wait till the weekend. I have got a cucumber in a large pot, I am not sure it will be okay outside and I have two courgette plants to go in pots as soon as I can get them in. Now I am off for my supper and a glass of well deserved wine. Thanks again.

[PLUMPUDDING]

It sounds like we're all in the same boat, so many plants ready to plant out and not daring to in case of a late frost. I can hardly move in my greenhouse and have had to pot the runner and climbing french beans up and give them canes to climb after spending half the afternoon trying to untwine them from one another. It should just keep them happy until the beginning of June.

Just a thought about buying net - I bought a huge roll about 16 ft wide from Harrods a few years ago and it is so tough it will last for years. It is wide enough to cover the cherry trees, strawberry beds and the fruit bushes - I drape it over a home made frame as a fruit cage, and the mesh is close enough to keep butterflies out if I needed to protect brassicas etc., so it is a good investment. I've cut it into pieces for each area and at the end of the season roll them up and keep them in separate carrier bags with a description of what they should cover so I don't have to guess the following year.

[Catherine]

I had a disaster last night. There I was carefully planting out two courgettes and F1 variety who's name escapes me and I had separated them from each other. I put one down next to my knee to plant the other one in a grow bag when I had planted it I looked round to find the other one and I had stood on its head and killed it. Now if this one fails I am doomed.....Never grown them before.

[Parsons Jack]

I have decided against covering with mesh, partly because of the cost of the stuff. It will not make it worth growing the things if it costs more to protect them.

Hi Catherine,

I've just bought some netting from here.
http://www.thegardensuperstore.co.uk/ac ... tting.html
4 metres wide and priced at 80p per metre. Looks nice and strong too.

Cheers, Parsons Jack.