Topic: To spray or not to spray??

[growmore]

Hi all,
       Went down lotty noticed a load of Cabbage white butterflies about,So I expected some damage to brassicas.
A few days later noticed the yellow eggs on leafs etc..
So I decided to try 2 methods of protecting them..
I sprayed sybol on all but half a row..
This I jetted with the hose then tried to squish the eggs etc..
I kept an eye on this over next few days trying to pick off all caterpillars etc..
Then it bucketted it down with rain so didnt get to lotty for 2 days..
Here is what I found.

unsprayed plants..


sprayed plants

so I concluded the only way to get stuff to table for me is use the spray..

OK i suppose fleece may have protected them but with the torential rain we have had up here it may have been a problem to use it ..
Cheers Jim...

[sandersj89]

Jim

Try netting like I do:





So far this year I have not had any problems with cabbage whites. I was worried they may lay eggs through the net where the leaves touch but they are fine. Only problem I have is a bit of white fly.

HTH

Jerry

[Pixie]

It is interesting the difference between the sprayed and none sprayed.

I haven't really looked at netting yet for my future veggies.

Could you suggest some of the veg that would need netting more than others? I really am trying to do as much research as I can before I decide how to plan out the lottie.

Sam    

[Bannerdown]

I think the netting they sell in your average hardware shop is a tad large (hole size), the stuff I bought seems to keep the White swine IN!  Cheers, Tony.

[Pixie]

Thats no good   :(

Could someone tell me what size is good to work with?

Sam

[tim]

Humble opinion? Netting is useless. Fleece or mesh are the only useful materials.

If you had squidged more eggs & wigglies - without spraying - you might have won the day. Don't know the toxity of Difenthrin, but I would prefer to use Dipel. = Tim

[budgiebreeder]

Just to add my threepennoth.These have neither been sprayed nor been protected with fleece or netting.
Cabbage
[/img]

Sprouts.
[/img]

Just left to Mother Nature.

[tim]

Earth is certainly filling your lap - lucky old you!! = Tim

[thomasb]

Jerry,
Love the look of your plants.
Where did you get the netting you used? What length does it come in?

My father used always say that the only thing you needed to control caterpillers was 2 stones.  This worked well for quite a while this summer for me. However, over the last 2 weeks I have been working until later in the evenings and have not been able to spend as much time squashing.... and some damage is now been done.
Thomas

[sandersj89]

Thomas

I have bought my netting from N. A. Kays

http://www.kayshorticulture.com/

It has to be one of the worst web sites and you will ever visit, you have to page through the listing to find what you want. Also no on line ordering.

But, and it is an important but, they fill your phone order very quickly and know what they are talking about and are very flexible.

You can buy the net by the meter, I think it is 2m wide and the mesh size is 18mm.

A quick check tells me it is £55 for 100m but they will sell it in 10 sections.

As I have said before it works a treat against cabbage whites and pigeons. Far easier to handle than fleece and will last longer.

Very happy with the results.

Jerry
(No connection to Kays other than a very happy customer for a number of years.)

[thomasb]

Jerry,
Thanks for this. I have looked at the website and yes its not the best. it also appaers its not the time of year they sell such netting as it is not listed.

One last question jerry....in one of your pictures you have 'hoops' holding up the netting in place, did you get this from the same company?

Thanks,
Thomas

[sandersj89]

Thomas

I clicked thouh just now on the Cat 2 link and it is still there, To be honest it is best to ring them asking for waht you want and they will sort you out.

The hoops you see in my pictures are some old plastic cloch hoops i bough years ago. Only any good for plants under 6 inches tall. For my brasicas I know make my own supports.

At each end of the row I drive in a wooden stake, I get these from a local fencing contactor at 10p per stake. They are tanalised and will last a few years.  At the top of each stake I nail/tie a cross piece of wood to for a T shape. The span is about 18".

I then run a string along the row from each end of the arms of the T, then drape the net and anchor it to the ground with pieces of wire bent over and pushed into the ground.

I can create a 10m long net cloche in about 10 minutes that does not need touching for months and will prevent pigeon and butterfly damage. It also will support the plants as they grow.

IMHO a very cheap and effective measure as I hope the pictures show.

HTH

Jerry

[tim]

I accept that I'm the odd man out here, but there are a couple of points left which concern me.
1. Netting cannot protect against cabbage weevil nor flea beetle.
2. It must not touch the plants anywhere.
3. This becomes a problem with such as our 'repeating' cauli, which are now 44" high by 40" wide!
4. Although I have to accept that whites do not get through netting, it is interesting that they can 'sidle' up a tight 2' overlap in 2 pieces of mesh. Very determined! = Tim

[Mrs Ava]

gggrrrr....the caterpillars have invaded my disease and pest ridden plot.  Not touched my sprouts tho!  

[Yarwooda]

Growmore, I personaly think its a matter of balance. I think your right in thinking that all your hard work should result in feeding your self and not the pest population.The thing about allotments is that you are in control of what and how often you spray or don't. I personaly don't think there is a right or wrong as long as you are happy with the out come.
If you are looking for FREE netting try asking any local scafolders that you may see working the mesh they errect around buildings is fine mesh and they have been known to throw it away after the job.

Good luck and enjoy your harvest.

Alan

[Mrs Ava]

I got my hands on some of that scaffolders netting, thanks to Ava, bright orange but such a lovely fine mesh....however.....when we had that hoverfly invasion...well, as I ventured onto our site I swear I could hear buzzing, and by the time I got to the plot I could see a swarm of hoverflies inside the netting!  Setting them free was amazing - there must have been hundreds and hundreds trapped as for a second, the sky went black around me!