Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello, is it too late to sow kale for good sized plants not as salad leaves? My plants have all been eaten by caterpillars

They probably should have been sown by now but if yiu have a greenhouse or other protected area it's worth a try. If you can protect them in the ewrly stages and we have a mild autumn and early winter you might get some plants. They,re quite hardy if you can get them beyond the caterpillar eating stage.

I'm a great believer in trying to push the boundaries. Sometimes with the right growing conditions you might be lucky. If you have a garden centre nearby it might be worth checking if they have any "poorly veg plants" left. Sometimes with some TLC they can be rescued. Good luck !

Welcome to the forum Raspberry Pie!

It is always worth a go & if we get an Indian summer you could get lucky. If the caterpillars haven't decimated the very centre growing points of your plants you could leave them in & just take off the decimated leaves so the plant doesn't waste energy on those but on growing more! And cover them as best you can with fine netting without any leaves touching the edges as they will lay through the holes & the cabbage whites will stay around if we do get some late warmth.

Thank you for the advice Westi. I'll give it a go. I'm in Sussex so hopefully it'll stay warm enough.