Picture posting is enabled for all :)
What it does do is bring on brassicas a treat! I thinks it creates a microclimate with slightly higher humidity and temperature that brings them on faster.
Update on Soda Bic/salt treatment.Delayed in application to 07.30 today due to persistant light showers . General spraying with trigger spray to all visible caterpillars and underleaf surfaces. Noted that treated caterpillars became motionless in a minute or so. Returned this afternoon to find almost no active caterpillars, some "dead" and witnessed several being dismembered into manageable sections and whisked away by wasps. Bet they wouldnt have wanted them if Bug-gunned!
Quote from: ancellsfarmer on August 26, 2013, 19:31:11Update on Soda Bic/salt treatment.Delayed in application to 07.30 today due to persistant light showers . General spraying with trigger spray to all visible caterpillars and underleaf surfaces. Noted that treated caterpillars became motionless in a minute or so. Returned this afternoon to find almost no active caterpillars, some "dead" and witnessed several being dismembered into manageable sections and whisked away by wasps. Bet they wouldnt have wanted them if Bug-gunned!Update 7 days after treatment:Revisited plot for the first time today since Monday. I still have a few large caterpillars, some medium caterpillars and several "coach-park "arrays of little tiny hatchlings.The large I suspect , were hiding last week and survived. The medium (of which there are several) could have migrated from the swedes which are now bare ribbed, and the tiny, just hatched. All (?) resprayed with same miture at 09.00 Reinspected at 1pm with hardly any showing signs of movement. Wasps very active on foraging caterpillar corpes..Aim to revisit on Tuesday and hope for a clear crop. Many thanks to Ed for recipe.
Try something like this. Note props in the large one to stop the snow collapsing it.
Now reached that time of year when I watch my brassica crop (savoy cabbage, calabrese, colly and spouts) being chomped by caterpillars etc. Had some cheap Wilko netting over them which stopped the pigeons getting at them but not the butterflies - and then the sprouts outgrew the netting so I removed it and replaced it with 'dangling CDs'. The colly and calabrese have already produced a good crop but I obviously need to do a re-think for next year to protect the cabbage & sprouts. Greatly appreciate any advice on netting or any other techniques for protecting brassicas.Many thanksJohn
Quote from: Amazingrotavator(Derby) on August 25, 2013, 09:20:58Try something like this. Note props in the large one to stop the snow collapsing it.What sort of height are these - they look great. What height would you go for Brussels sprouts for example. What length of polypipe are you using and how do you attach the polypipe to the wooden frame and the netting to the whole structure. Desperate to copy your design if that's okay ready for next year. Many thanks Al
Are the holes in the scaffolding netting small enough to stop the carrot root fly getting in? They usually recommend fleece which has much finer holes.
Many thanks to Big Gee et al for the excellent advice. As mentioned earlier, I'm fighting shy of building any 'permanent' structures as my plot is on agricultural land and I've had a run-in with the local planning enforcement chap before. However, Ed's spray is doing a grand job in significantly reducing the chomping of my brussel sprouts