[snails2go]

Ok I'm having a confused moment (or three) but know someone will sort it out for me 

Netting...Currently -

Brassicas have netting over them (tho there's been no sign of butterflies yet and I think the holes maybe too bi)

Peas n Beans have netting to stop the pesky pigeons (who seem o be enjoying the wildflower seedlings a bit too much instead)

Roots - Have netting because....I had some - but know I should replace this with something carrot fly proof

Onions - just removed the pigeon-preventing-netting as the garlic and onion leaves were getting too big

Fruit - all currently uncovered but netted last year to stop birds and pet dog eating the fruit & to act as a football defence.

Soooooooo,  I'm confused - does everything really need netting?  What shouldn't I need to net? Presumably some things need pollinating so the bees need free access - what veg are they??  And I read (somewhere) that Carrot fly don't fly that high so I could put a barrier around the roots rather than completely covering - is that right??

Any advice gratefully received (while I untangle the netting from last year that I rolled into a ball with bits of that bendy wire stuff attached  )
 

[DD.]

Onions & garlic - don't need netting.

Carrots are best covered with fine mesh. Sure, they can't fly high, but they're great gliders on a gust of wind.

[mumofstig]

I don't net beetroot, lettuce and salad mixes, celeriac/celery, chard, courgettes, squash/pumpkins, sweetcorn, potatoes, spinach, dwarf & climbing french beans, runner beans, cucmbers, tomatoes, herbs 

[allot2learn]

I put fleece over my peas until they are about 3 or 4" high, then they fend for themselves. Debris netting over my brassicas, Onions are left to fend for themselves on our plots. We get the odd one pulled out but nothing to worry about. Debris netting also covers my soft fruit after it has been pollinated. My carrots and parsnips have water pipe hoops and vegimesh over them.

[Kajazy]

I have:
1)  insect mesh over carrots/parsnips against root fly, also over brassicas against pigeons/butterflies/cabbage root fly.

2)  I have anti-bird netting over soft fruit.

3)  I have anti-mouse chicken wire mesh over broad beans and peas.

4)  I have fleece over my early potatoes as they're just starting to poke through and in case I can't get to cover them with soil before a frost. Also over more tender cutting flowers.

Everything else is fending for itself. (Or drowning, currently...)

[DD.]

I put fleece over my peas until they are about 3 or 4" high, then they fend for themselves.

I used to be able to do that.

Then the pigeons learned that:

a) they could walk around the peas and eat all the lower pods.

b) by landing on top of them briefly & continually, they could gradually squash the foliage down to make a landing part that would hold their weight.

If your locals learn the same whilst you're not looking, you could find yourself without a lot of peas if you don't net!

[sunshineband]

Do you just net them at the base, DD?

[potatogrower]

i net my peas and brassica's and we also grow mustard and that needed to be covered too from the pigeons. also growing fenugreek but will need to see if pigeons take pecks out of it or not

[snails2go]

Thanks for all the info spent the weekend installing a Mesh barrier for carrots and parsnips and everything else lurking in that bed.

How fine does the netting need to be for the brassicas?  I'm currently using some green & black netting that has holes less than 1cm square - is that fine enough?

(so far no sign of butterflies .....)

[mumofstig]

It has to be less than 7mm to stop the small cabbage whites

[Donnay]

Do all types of root veg need netting, I didn't realise roots need protecting!

[mumofstig]

carrots are the only roots that need a cover

[DD.]

If you're really picky like me, you cover parsnips as well.

[JayG]

I agree with Mum and DD!     

Carrots can be completely destroyed by carrot fly, parsnips are usually only affected on the tops of the roots, often with a bit of canker thrown in for good measure, although it usually all peels off OK.

[sunshineband]

I have got enviromesh over both carrots and parsnips this year as I am tired of grubs in the top of the parsnips.

Just covered a whole raised bed, rather than fiddling about