Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: gilesi on May 11, 2015, 10:13
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I've just planted out some kale seedlings - they are about 6 inches high. What should I do about potential pests - I've put down slug pellets but have heard that I should net the kale to discourage birds. When should I put the netting over ?
Many thanks for your help/advice !
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I've usually found that birds ignore kale if there's anything more to their liking about, it doesn't seem to be on the pigeon's top 10.
But if it was the first thing I'd planted out with not much else about, it might be worth putting some netting over them to discourage interest.
I've never had a problem with Cabbage Whites and Kale - they seem to bypass it in favour of other things.
Generally, for me, quite a trouble free crop.
The cabbages I just planted out a couple of weeks ago though, completely stripped, presumably by birds, so going to net the next lot I plant out.
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Depends what sort of kale it is. It seems that if it's curly kale, they'll leave it well alone...if it's cavolo nero kale, they'll gobble it up at a moments notice!
It's worth putting up a debris netting, blue tube protection device though - helps protect against pigeons and caterpillers.
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I have only just sown my kale so they will not be ready to plant out until the end of June. I will then plant out in the middle of my runner beans as i dont want them to grow too fast. Once the beans are all done the kale should be growing nicely ready for eating after Christmas. I have done this for years.
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Depends what sort of kale it is. It seems that if it's curly kale, they'll leave it well alone...if it's cavolo nero kale, they'll gobble it up at a moments notice!
It's worth putting up a debris netting, blue tube protection device though - helps protect against pigeons and caterpillers.
I think pigeons in different place have different tastes. The pigeons in our area ignore cavolo nero completely until the depths of winter when there is nothing else to eat. They will however strip a young standard type cabbage within hours.
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I planted some kale plants about a week ago and the slugs have been nipping at them already.
On a side note. I had some lovely kale plants in the garden all through the winter. Come spring they started to throw out some lovely new tender leaves and then they were ravaged. I thought it was the slugs but a fellow gardener said she had seem some birds attacking the plants!
Anton
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The pigeons had a feast from our broccoli and curly kale this winter. Luckily I covered them in time and they both recovered - unlike the cabbages.
I won't be leaving any brassciacs uncovered this year.
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Nobody mentions whitefly as a pest, maybe I'm just unlucky but my kale is always smothered in whitefly and it can't be washed off so its basically inedible. Given it up (unless somebody has an idea of what to do).
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Nobody mentions whitefly as a pest, maybe I'm just unlucky but my kale is always smothered in whitefly and it can't be washed off so its basically inedible. Given it up (unless somebody has an idea of what to do).
I gave up too with brassica because of all the things that seem to like munching on it, and whitefly was one of the things I couldn't do anything about. I used insect netting but it didn't stop the whitefly, I tried horticultural soap but then didn't fancy eating the leaves after.
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Nobody mentions whitefly as a pest, maybe I'm just unlucky but my kale is always smothered in whitefly and it can't be washed off so its basically inedible. Given it up (unless somebody has an idea of what to do).
I didn't get any on my kale when I grew it under enviromesh with my leeks. Clean as a whistle, bar the mini-slugs..
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My kale always get horrible white fly but I am trying again. I'll be cursing I am sure when I dont get any to eat
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We've got pigeons next door but they don't bother with the kale. It's the slugs I battle, apart from slug pellets I've started using copper collars round the base and that's helped. I bought copper sticky tape and used that but the war continues!
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We just cook it, eat it and ignore the whitefly.....
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We just cook it, eat it and ignore the whitefly.....
That is what I do, it is extra protein, isn't it.
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Nobody mentions whitefly as a pest, maybe I'm just unlucky but my kale is always smothered in whitefly and it can't be washed off so its basically inedible.
Again, there's a marked difference between curly kale and something like cavolo nero with whitefly. I grew cavolo nero and it got horribly infested with whitefly last year. Plot neighout grew curly kale and they didn't touch it!
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I've not had a problem with white fly and Kale (touch wood), only ever grown Cavolo Nero but am going to add some Sutherland Kale this year.
I do surround them with nasturtiums though, I don't know if that helps to distract?
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We just cook it, eat it and ignore the whitefly.....
That is what I do, it is extra protein, isn't it.
Its the scum on the water in the cooking pot I don't like. :(
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We just cook it, eat it and ignore the whitefly.....
That is what I do, it is extra protein, isn't it.
Its the scum on the water in the cooking pot I don't like. :(
Ewwww what about when they fly off in the kitchen, yuck sends me bonkers
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It seems it must be something to do with the differing varieties that suffer from pests.
Grew kale for the first time last year, Westland Autumn Curly Kale.
I provided no protection and I spread the plants all around my garden plot and nothing touched them.
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I get whitefly on all my brassicas later on in the season.
Only the kale get them on the bits one eats so I've given up with it.
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My daughter's plot gets whitefly on veg, including kale. My plot, on the same site, a couple of hundred yards away, never has whitefly. No idea why.
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I've nearly given up with cavolo nero due to the (cabbage) whitefly. Last year I didn't grow it under debris netting to see whether this helped but it didn't (it survived the pigeon attack).
However, I stripped it in the winter and the new growth in spring was free from infestation so for a few pickings in the spring when everything is in short supply it's currently got a reprieve...
Interesting tips about enviromesh and comments on curly kale-I've got some purple curly kale on the go so I'll see how that compares initially.
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Couldn't you try spraying soapy water for the white flies. I spray my runner beans when I get those kind of black flies and it works a treat. My wife also uses soapy water (vegetable soap of which she takes shavings and dissolves in water) to spray the rose bushes. Seems to get rid of the flies.
Anton
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Noticed last night that Monty Don had plenty of Cavalo Nero out in the open that looked pest free.
Must be another variety that the pests avoid.
My Westland Autumn Curly Kale has started off well this year too, picked loads already all around the garden and not a pest nibble anywhere.
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Calvo that was left uncovered by mistake got stripped on the plot, but uncovered at home all year was fine. I think it's the tastes of your local flock!
No problem with white fly on anything brassica-y but the mealy bugs were awful on the brocolli until the butterflies were gone and I swopped the debris netting out for larger mesh.
Will slip some ladybirds under the debris netting this year.
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I found soaking it in a bowl of very salted water outside or inadvertently a few drops of oil added to unsalted water got rid of the whitefly before cooking. Outside so the fly don't come in the house, with the oil & water I rub my hands up & down the leaves
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The problem I've had is not only the whitefly themselves but also the gunk they leave behind on the leaves. Hadn't thought of dunking then with oil and water. Might try kale again next year.
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I've had Curly Kale in all winter and next doors pigeons didn't bother with it till last week. Then they decided to strip it, so I've had to cover it. While I was doing that they brazenly started on my other bed of Kale! >:(
The next morning I looked out and they were at my Pak choi so it's covered as well!
So far no caterpillars or whitefly so that's one bonus!