Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Equipment Shed => Topic started by: mikeimp on June 21, 2012, 14:18
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Hi all, we are trying to source some netting to make a brassica cage and also protect soft fruit.I see that some people have used debris netting is this better that butterfly netting ( cheaper ) .If so where can I buy it and how much is it. Many thanks.
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eBay, there's a direct scaffolding supplier advertising on the internet, you might even source it at a local builders merchant - it is probably worth asking. :)
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Debris netting is ok for brassicas but not for soft fruits you need a wider gauge to let the insects in to pollinate .
I use a netting with a 7 mm gauge on all my plants and found this to be about the size required except for the carrots I use a fleece to combat the root fly.
John
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Many thanks for your suggestions pity about the soft fruit as bird netting is so expensive .The debris netting via ebay is a good idea ,having looked at it I found that as it comes with VAT and delivery that made it cheaper that the online one from scaffolding direct.
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Because the holes are very small in debris netting there is quite a high percentage of plasic to space so wonder if there may be a detrimental reduction in light?
smud6ie
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Quite a lot of people use it. ;)
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Many thanks for your suggestions pity about the soft fruit as bird netting is so expensive .The debris netting via ebay is a good idea ,having looked at it I found that as it comes with VAT and delivery that made it cheaper that the online one from scaffolding direct.
For my blackcurrant bush I bought the pond type netting from Wilkinsons. 2m x 4m I think £3.98 I bought 2. one went round the bush. I used bamboo canes around and tied the netting to the canes to keep the netting off the bush itself. The 2nd net went over the top and tied to the canes.
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Hi Annie , thanks for your advice.What I am thinking of is having bamboo poles which I have 50 of them at 8 ft I also bought those balls that you attach the poles to to make a cage.The cage will be over a run of Raspberries and I would also use it to cover a couple of rows of Strawberries.So I thought that the debris netting at 3 m x 50 m would be plenty to cutup and sew to give me the width I want.But it sounds to be not the right stuff.
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Ah the green(white/blue) blight, common on our allotments, should be left in builders skips in my opinion. Purpose designed netting works, it is very strong and will last for years making the investment worthwhile. You are trying to protect brassica and soft fruit, luckily the 7mm insect netting will achieve both requirements, providing there is a space between the crop and the net.
7mm netting will keep out the major pests, pigeons, white butterflies, blackbirds etc. do please ensure the net is secured at ground level and there are no gaps; it is upsetting to remove a strangled bird! It will not keep out aphids or flea beetle or other small pests, but the great advantage in using it is that it will allow in the pest predators.
Debris netting mesh is fine designed to catch bricks, tiles or other debris falling on people working underneath scaffolding. Great at what it was designed for; however in the allotment it can be used as shading, is great for keeping out pigeons, white butterflies, blackbirds; also the major predators and pollinators such as ladybirds, lacewings, hover-flies, bees, wasps. You will loose late flowering soft fruit on your bushes and there probably will be major problems with aphids on your cauliflowers and cabbages should you choose debris netting.
For these reasons I use insect netting. :)