I (almost) give up! :(
I have tried for four years now to grow this wretched plant; this year I planted seeds (the tiny plants got eaten in the cold frame :(), got given some seedlings (they turned out out to be mislabelled caulis! :-\) and then I ordered the Dobies brassica collection. Planted them out last weekend and now have stalks. Slugs have got the bleeping lot. :'(
Does anyone know where I might find any module-grown seedlings still?
moonbells
Isn't this weird? I have tons of the stuff (not ready yet) and gave loads of seedlings away to lotties friends, it's been attacked by grubs, slugs you name it and is still growing away, what am I doing right? my first time too. ;D
Beginners luck ;D
Mine has been ripped to shreds by pigeons :'(.....I had netted them, but they sat on top, their weight allowed them to reach the leaves....was hoping to renet this PM, but pouring here. No probs last year, left unnetted and they were fine, don't know what the best way to go is...apart from pigeon pie.. ;) Lottie
mine all got ate by the lovely slug population .......bless their cotton socks :D
i planted mine out absolute ages ago! must have been may or so. were netted, they are now so huge the nets had to come off and no way is a pidgeon going near them now - they would have to hover next to the leaves to pick any (hummingbirds spring to mind)
they dont have any sprouting bits yet - but i am hopeful :)
Showed some of mine earlier - that was just half the lot lost through carelessness.
But, smugly (I do preach 'fleece'), I reckoned that the 4 varieties of cabbage under that fleece would be fine. Had it on since they were babies. Took it off a couple of days ago &............ it was just like the rest!! Can only assume that the eggs were there on the seedlings (unlikely) or that the 100s of caterpillars I carelessly brushed off the sprouting found a new home??
So - no more worries!!
PS Svea - unless your p/s is a very early one, I would not expect shoots till the New Year? Which is when we so need it!
Ouch! Pigeons did similar to my minicole cabbages early this season after the fleece blew off - but I netted them instead and they recovered. Now cropping happily, with no time difference in readiness between the ones that escaped the pecking and those which were stripped.
There's always something wanting to eat it all before we do! I am tempted to put copper tape around all my raised bed edges to keep out the slugs etc. except that it costs a silly amount.
moonbells
My first sowings of brassicas didn't make it (due to my clumsiness and the dreaded slugs). Second sowing was planted out earlier this month. Looks untouched so far (touchwood). Each has an individual 4pt milk bottle cloche (bottom chopped off) firmy planted over it. When (if?) the plants get too big for those, I'll have to bring out the fleece.
Fingerscrossed.
Vaseline (actually v. cheap yellow paraffin) worked this year on the raised beds.
My brassicas also look like those in Tim's photo. I have a Romain cauliflower about 3 ins in diameter on one plant. The caterpillars have chewed all the large leaves off and were just about to tackle the protective leaves over the cauli head when they were spotted and I managed to pick them off. Chickens enjoyed them!
Does anyone have an explanation as to why organic grown brassicas for sale in supermarkets show no sign of leaf or floret damage? How do they d manage to get rid of the pests?
'Limited' spray - 'limited' spray - like celery like lettuce like apples like carrots like ............??
Quote from: Paulines7 on September 26, 2005, 19:05:50
Does anyone have an explanation as to why organic grown brassicas for sale in supermarkets show no sign of leaf or floret damage? How do they d manage to get rid of the pests?
I could be really cynical here... I'll content myself with saying 'this is why I grow my own organic veg instead of buying it'
moonbells
I was working overlooking an organic farm last week, looked right over the fields, and what did I see? More fleece than I thought was available in the UK! ;D
Quote from: Doris_Pinks on September 26, 2005, 22:23:57
I was working overlooking an organic farm last week, looked right over the fields, and what did I see? More fleece than I thought was available in the UK! ;D
I would think that gets rid of avian pests - but how on earth do they stop the slugs????? Gallons of nematodes?
(In which case how do they work at this time of year when it's getting cold?)
moonbells
This is exactly the same question I asked my father-in-law this weekend, after problems with slugs, caterpillars, blight and aphids.......how do the organic growers do it???
Perhaps by volume? The more veg they grow the more they get out, sacrificial cabbages???
Slugs are a MAJOR prob on my plot and I have tried every organic method known to man, (well I think I have!) I even have old copper tubing around things! (friend is a plumber)
But they are the one pest that drives me to distraction..........nowt like putting in a load of lettuces that you have talked to, cosseted and nurtured from seeds, and going back 2 days later to find them all eaten :'( (oh and slugs in your salad is gross!)
hi moonbells, you could try country markets where they are selling little brassicas still. In Downham Market on Friday morning you will find them at 70p for ten, loads of varieties - they are all gone by 11am so get there early ;D
Hmmm wish I was near that type of market!!!
The only farmers' markets near us were last week and the week before with no more till end Oct. Not sure about the normal markets and I'm a bit far from Downham... :(
Was at work all today too :( Typical a lovely day and I finally escape and it rains.
But at least deadline met and I can have next week off to relax! (They owe me most of it in lieu...)
moonbells
Nematodes don't have to work at this time of year. If applied twice at the right time, the slug poulation decreases to the point where damage over winter is minimal. For a commercial grower it would be cheaper to pay an army of slug pickers though. I've used soot quite succesfully against slugs early in the year. Did anyone see the Gardeners World trial? None of the methods seemed terribly succesful.
Who knows? Doubtful.
Just to rub the salt in, here's what it was before it was all lost!!
And that was Romanesco far right.
My PSB looked liked Tim's a month ago. Totally destroyed, I thought, by Cabbage Whites.
Nothing to lose, I thought, and left them to their own devices.
You'd never know, now that the caterpillars have gone.
They've recovered miraculously, and now I can't wait until January.
Broccoli is the most eaten veg by far in our house, but we very rarely get to eat the 'real stuff'.
Maybe I was stupid to dig mine out, but couldn't stand the sight!
At first i used alot of slug pellets and cds to deter the pests, but once they got big enough they were fine, just a few little munches
hellooo,
This year it has been really tough with slugs and caterpillars. However, a mix of bottle cloches, ale traps, picking by hand (yuk!), and having a wildlife pond on my allotment has managed to give me some really lovely plants. Slug pellets aren't something I would ever use because they are so devastating to pond, hedgehog and bird life.
Last year my plants got stripped by a mix of pigeons, slugs and an army of weevils. I thought all was lost and they looked dreadful, but after netting them, hand picking slugs and just pretending the weevils weren't there, I had an amazing harvest over a really long period.
I've now decided that a bit of sharing, without letting things get out of control, is actually ok!
hen
Mine were completely annihalated by the ***** pigeons before I could net them, not a leaf left!! I've since netted them , and they've bounced back really well. Lots of new growth and am feeling vaguely hopeful!
Lottie ;D
WHEN do you think the infestation started? I hesitate to say this but mine PSB is looking terrific.
The reason for this I feel sure is that when I planted them, each on went under a plastic milk bottle for quite some time.
The cabbage white etc simply had to go else where to lay eggs.
Yesterday they was a cloud of aphids around but there does not seem to be much damage - ......... yet!