???hi folks . been reading the forum for 12mths.and finally plucked up courage to write. My wife and I have had 3 plots in a valley in Sth Wales for the last couple of years and still learning daily. We've kept the cabbage whites away with rotted rhubarb water , cured club root with compost lime and eggshells but lost 90% of brassicas even using carpet collars round the plants and so did the neighbours . anyone got any suggestions for next year ?
What actually killed them?
Hello Dave and welcome, so glad you joined us.
I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I'm sure the knowledgable gardeners will be along later.
Lauren :)
the maggots ate all the stem below ground and the plant just wilted
just had a suggestion from j millar , growing through plastic mulch , may be worth trying anyone else heard of this?
I'm afraid that there is some very negative advice here.
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/techniques/pests/cabbage-root-fly.htm (http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/techniques/pests/cabbage-root-fly.htm)
Obviously you shouldn't use the same bed again for a while, but I don't see why a combination of companion planting with garlic, marigolds etc combined with growing through fleece or under extra fine enviromesh shouldn't give you a chance.
Also found this on another forum:
"My grandfather swore by Jeyes fluid to keep many pests at bay. All his pots/tray/shed/greenhouse etc were all brushed clean then given a quick soak in a solution of the stiff before putting away for the winter. Brassica planting holes were watered with it at 1 tablespoon to a gallon of water and they were left to drain before planting. this was to prevent both clubroot and cabbage rootfly.
If he thinned his carrots/swede/parsley he would water the row afterwards with a mild solution of 1 tsp per gallon to prevent carrot fly.
At home it was used to wash down outhouses/backyards/outside toilets/drains etc
In fact it seemed to be used for the prevention of all diseases and pests. In truth I can never recall grandad's crops falling prey to any major problems but I don't know if it was the Jeyes fluid, his good housekeeping or prehaps times were different then.
I use armillitox in much the same way as do many of my companion gardeners."
I used enviromesh this year and so far so good, not an especially cheap option but it can be reused :)
thanks all, will try the jeyes next year , I can't stand the smell so hopefully the fly's wont
I saw a program on TV where they suggested using baking foil in a 6" wide skirt around the stalk, on the ground. The foil was slightly crumpled to allow the stalk room to grow.
someone at work picked me up a really old book (can't find a date in it but it does say that garlic isn't popular in England!) called The Vegetable Grower's Treasury from a local charity shop and that suggests dipping the roots in a mixture of clay, water and soot before planting...
but I've got absolutely no idea how, or even if, this works :-\
Is that by a guy called A J Macself? Of so, it was published in 1934. That's not to say it won't have anything good to offer!
that name does sound vaguely familiar but I keep forgetting to look ::)
unfortunately, because the book is so old and musty, I can't read it for very long before it makes me go all wheezy â€" think it might have a little bit of mildew :( will be leaving it in my shed to air for a few weeks I think!