Kitchen Garden Forum

Planted cabbage, broccoli cauliflower & kale in raised bed covered in white ground cover to keep the butterflies away.

I notice there are some black flies under the cover, is this anything to worry about?

I've had them under my kale environmesh for ages. Let them out when I weed the bed but they don't seem to cause any damage and seem to return - or another lot, who knows, they are always there though!

Thanks Westi ....How long should I keep them covered?

Once the butterflies have gone the pigeons will be hungry, I'll leave my netting on.

Hi Colin!

Keep protection of some sort or another over your winter brassica's for ever until you harvest them. When we get a frost and the cabbage whites move off then you can just change to netting to keep the pigeons out. I buy this green plastic netting from the place that starts with an 'A' online & use tree stakes for the height (although sometimes I cable tie a cane onto it as well but I grow purple sprouting & frilly sprouts too), but it still covers 3 beds minimum. I bought my first one about 3 years ago & it is in constant use for brassica's & soft fruit & holding up well! I think about £10 - Look for a Westi comment on the 'A' place & you know you have the right netting!