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Sprouting broccoli invaded by cabbage whites and being destroyed by caterpillars

louise818louise818 Posts: 40
in Problem solving
I am trying to pick them off and water hose them off but I have a lot of lace on very established plants..can I cut off a lot of the damage - feed and cover again and hope they whites have done their work - they are sturdy and not yet producing? Thanks in advance.

Posts

  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Spend some time picking off the caterpillars and rubbing the eggs off the undersides of the leaves. Then net the plants with butterfly netting that is held clear of the plants so they can't lay their eggs though it (canes with upside down flower pots on the tops work well as net supports). The check again, as often as you can but every few days at least, for caterpillars and eggs that you missed. A few chewed leaves won't cause any problems - the eggs will probably be on the less chewed leaves.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Good advice from @raisingirl.  I always net my brassicas now.  Lost too many to the dreaded cabbage whites and now we also have chooks who love to peck the leaves if they can get at them.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • IgrowfromseedIgrowfromseed Posts: 284
    A simple spay of the biological control with bacillus Thuriengiensis will control the caterpillars. I both net and spray. Stops that meaty surprise when you are tucking into your steamed calabrese. 
  • barry islandbarry island Posts: 1,847
    When there was a wasp nest on the adjacent vacant plot I noticed that there were far less caterpillars on my brassicas I know that this doesn't help you but it's just an observation. I don't grow brassicas now apart from curly kale which the butterflies don't seem to bother so much as they were far too much trouble for what I got from them.
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Ive noticed that they don't seem interested in kale, everything else is netted,making sure the plants aren't touching the net
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Theyre interested in Cavolo Nero … but ours are in a netted cage … they can’t get near them. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • EustaceEustace Posts: 2,290
    @Dovefromabove I'm trying curly kale for the first time. The seedlings are about 6 inches tall. Do I need to net them now itself or later? TIA.
    Oxford. The City of Dreaming Spires.
    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
    And dances with the daffodils (roses). Taking a bit of liberty with Wordsworth :)

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited August 2021
    They need to be netted while the Cabbage white butterflies are about … which is early summer right through until mid autumn … depending on the weather. So yes, net now!   And keep the netting up to keep the pigeons off in the winter. 
    And watch out for slugs, especially while the plants are small. 
    Good luck 🤞 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • EustaceEustace Posts: 2,290
    Thanks for your sage advice @Dovefromabove.
    Oxford. The City of Dreaming Spires.
    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
    And dances with the daffodils (roses). Taking a bit of liberty with Wordsworth :)

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    We have the perishers here most of the winter as well
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