[The Golden Heap]

Just went for a quick watering visit, my nets covering the broccoli have blown over and a brassica masacre has coccured.  Most of the leaves have been nibbled clean off.  They have only been in open ground two weeks.  Will they revive them selves or do i need to ditch them and start again?

And does hanging CD's around the plot really help deter birds?

[arugula]

I'm not convinced the plants will make it if there is that much leaf damage. Also there are mixed opinions on CDs working as a deterrent. You could search this board as I know its been discussed in the past.

[Yorkie]

Might be worth double checking that the leaf damage isn't caterpillars ...

[The Golden Heap]

i have lost ten whole brocs, the netting had blown clean off the canes! so sad!

[GrannieAnnie]

If the central growing tip has been eaten, then no chance, but if its still there on any of them, they may continue to grow.  Pigeons are a nuisance, we have loads here. 

I treated myself to some debris netting last week and rigged up a cage.  2x2 timber hammered into the 4 corners, and Brian gave me some old electric wire, which we stretched round the top 3 sides.  The netting is 3m wide, so goes round the 4 posts, and I cable tied it down the centre and made a tent effect with a taller cane.  pegs round the outside are at the moment keeping the netting taut.

Fingers crossed I've done enough.  I do have a butterfly that keeps hovering, but it can't work out how to get in!!   Lots of canes around the veg patch with plastic bottles over the tops seem to be keeping the pigeons away too!

[The Golden Heap]

when you say central growing tip would that be the inner leaf?? the whole stem and the innerds of all leaves are present.

[goodtogrow]

Had the same happen to mine about two weeks ago but they're coming back now and they have no netting over them...

They went in as strong transpants grown in 3"/75mm pots and although they were hardened off they weren't up to the windswept wasteland that is my site, so I think the pigeons did me a favour by reducing the leaf area so they didn't get too stressed!

Anyway they're bouncing back 'cos, IMO, the biennial/perennial nature of brassicas makes them store energy in their roots, like perennial weeds, so they don't even need leaf area to respond to a little setback like pigeon pecking....

So I would definitely leave them to it to come back if they were well established in the first place.  From the amount of the remaining leaf area it sounds like they were...

Good luck

Tom

[sarajane]

Just waiting for the current shower to go off and plant some sprouts, kale and sweetcorn then its a BBQ tonight at ours with the kids  n grand kiddlies.  Lucky we have a shelter /cover in the garden so wont get too wet. 

Oh and another BBQ on monday at a friends so a fair bit of partying.

[GrannieAnnie]

when you say central growing tip would that be the inner leaf?? the whole stem and the innerds of all leaves are present.

Yeah, that's the bit I meant.  If that's still growing, then hopefully you have only lost the few outer leaves and the rest will carry on!  Fingers crossed!!