clk, try companion planting. Give the caterpillars alternative food sources to the stuff you are growing, then you can protect whatever you growing with fleece which you can cut to size as you wish.
I netted my broccoli this year and cabbage white got under the netting, so was thinking of leaving a couple of plants outside the netting just for butterflies in the hope they'll lay eggs on them and they can munch to their hearts content.
That's a great idea zoomer44. Alternatively you could go for other brassicas Ladies Smock is a lovely little flower and will also attract the orange tip. Here's the Wikipedia list of Brasicas. Of course after all that they might just prefer your cabbages. There's also ornamental Cabbages as beautiful as an flower. It would be interesting if anyone knows what they would choose to eat over all if they had the choice.
Cabbage Whites like my Sweet Rocket (it's a brassica) - they certainly found that rather than my baby Purple Sprouting plants that were hiding amongst pots of hostas
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi Dove, have you tried eating the Sweet Rocket? It's a bit hairy but if quite nice, it's got a mild cabbage flavour, if you don't mind the hairs. My neighbour thinks I recklessly eat everything. I don't think she realises I look it up first.
I find caterpillars so interesting to watch crawl around and like some of the colours that they have. The Blue Tits should clear any up that you have on plants.
Posts
clk, try companion planting. Give the caterpillars alternative food sources to the stuff you are growing, then you can protect whatever you growing with fleece which you can cut to size as you wish.
And if all that fails pick them up and flick them into your neighbours garden....
Our bluetits, robins and blackbirds scour the garden every spring looking for caterpillars to rear their chicks with.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Fry the little devils in garlic butter...soz got my daft head on
Also just put my tin hat on.
I Agree Dove,
Not a one on my nasturtiums, now if only they mopped up the saw fly larvae the same.
I netted my broccoli this year and cabbage white got under the netting
, so was thinking of leaving a couple of plants outside the netting just for butterflies in the hope they'll lay eggs on them and they can munch to their hearts content.
That's a great idea zoomer44. Alternatively you could go for other brassicas Ladies Smock is a lovely little flower and will also attract the orange tip. Here's the Wikipedia list of Brasicas. Of course after all that they might just prefer your cabbages.
There's also ornamental Cabbages as beautiful as an flower. It would be interesting if anyone knows what they would choose to eat over all if they had the choice.
Cabbage Whites like my Sweet Rocket (it's a brassica) - they certainly found that rather than my baby Purple Sprouting plants that were hiding amongst pots of hostas
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi Dove, have you tried eating the Sweet Rocket? It's a bit hairy but if quite nice, it's got a mild cabbage flavour, if you don't mind the hairs. My neighbour thinks I recklessly eat everything. I don't think she realises I look it up first.
I find caterpillars so interesting to watch crawl around and like some of the colours that they have. The Blue Tits should clear any up that you have on plants.