My Tiny PlotCabbages – Now and Then
I took this photo today. The Cabbages on the left are coming up for ready for harvest. The ones on the right were planted a little later.
This photo I took when the Cabbage seedlings were being planted back at the beginning of April. You can just about see the Peas pushing through the soil on the left hand side too. What a difference.
I assume you netted your cabbages? If not, how oh how did you avoid the infernal caterpillar damage as they’re looking mighty fine.
Nope didn’t net them. But did check them almost everyday for eggs and caterpillars.
I think I’ll do as you did next year.
I spent a fortune making some netted cloches with 10mm mesh so that the butterfies couldn’t get through, but somehow the little buggers have still managed to infiltrate my cabbages.
All I can think is that they’ve just sat on top of the netting and dropped an egg hoping it hits a leaf,Dambuster style.
Brassicas are a nightmare.
Strangeley my Red Cabbages are free of catterpillars ???
Nice Blog by the way :O)
I’ve also noticed that the red cabbages are less prone to butterfly attack … I wonder if its colour that puts them off …
D
Great comparison shot! Your such a neat gardener :P
All my brassicas look like bridal veils- as lacy as they come :P Dastardly caterpillas.
I enjoy looking at before and after photos. They really show how everything has come on.
Your very organized I haven’t got any where near the plants growing that you have, but my dahlia’s are doing very well apart from the ones the snails and slugs have ate.
Well how about that! I’ve just returned from the allotment with my very first (very small, but I really couldn’t resist harvesting) cabbage this year. The ones I didn’t net have been attacked and the ones I did have also been attacked. Ah well, that’s gardening. I agree with Dinzie about the red cabbage as mine have also been left alone (so far) whereas the green ones have been munched. Love the before and after photos.
Wow those were healthy cabbages. It simply shows how good you are in taking care of your garden. Nice post!
When you say you check for eggs and caterpillars, what do you do when you find them? Our summer cabbage were eaten to the veins by caterpillars and although we checked for eggs/caterpillars every time we went up, we can’t get there every day and maybe squashing eggs wasn’t effective? I’d love to know your method.
Your cabbages look fab! I didn’t net mine either, because netting doesn’t look nice… and I checked them for eggs/caterpillars nearly every day, but today, I admitted defeat and pulled up all my greyhound cabbages. The caterpillars had started to burrow into the heart and it was just too much to keep picking them off. :(
I grew some tall french marigolds (about 18 inches) between my hispi cabbage and they seemed to have avoided the worse ravages of predators even without nets. The slugs have got going since the rains came in July but up until that point I like to think that the butterflies have been confused by my chemical barricade.
hi, I guess that because i dint net my vegs is why i have been so badly attacked by caterpillars then, radishes, swede and brussels are completly covered, this was my first attempt and own grown, so as least its a lesson learnt, so should i dig up and throw everything away now???
Help i devasted!! x