[gallowman]

Trying brussel sprouts this year and want to protect them. What netting should I use? Was going for insect mesh but it's expensive. Should I use this or is there an alternative?

Thanks, Keith.

[penance]

Have a look for 'debris netting' on ebay.
When you look at the width/length you can get it is much cheaper that specific garden products and the mesh is finer than most so help keep smaller bugs out.

[slowcompost]

I would also suggest debris netting, brilliant stuff, used with blue water tube to make tunnels.

[tontom]

i've just bought some debris netting i thought was quite reasonable from a company called trans something off the net ! pardon the pun , 3 metres x 20 metres for £ 25 . Last year all my brassicas under what i thought would stop the cabbage whites where munched by so many caterpillars i had to go down to the plot every day just to squash the little blighters.The butterflies can squeeze through the smallest of denier apart from debris netting apparently.

[jimmytheshed]

I used scaffholding   debris netting last year, and had no catapillers at all. but the white fly ruined loads, does anyone think the bugs that eat the white fly maybe cant get as well. thinking to get the kids to collect some ladybirds to let lose in there in the summer

[prakash_mib]

this is not a funny story but it is a real one.
last year one of the plot holder left kale (I think) open without netting which was looking like caterpiller farm. and one fine evening when i was digging, the caterpillers were marching in a fantastic straight line single file across my plot to the next one where the guy had late cabbages and netted it. Beautiful sight. (and the next day the cabbages were gone)
But how can you stop that? unless there is a blanket rule in the allotment that you should net your white attacking vegetables, we will always get nuisance from other plots.

[Ice]

It's not a blanket rule Prakash it's just common sense.  It doesn't matter where they come fom it is always a good idea to net your brassicas.

[tontom]

I'm with you on that one Ice , we put the work in ,we should benefit from our hard work , not the freeloading cabbage whites

[solway cropper]

The problem with common sense is that there's not much of it about. 

[hightide]

Debris netting has its uses, it is usually cheap or obtained free from sites, however I will not be using it on my brassica bed this year. I am going to invest in proper 7mm netting for protection. What I found was that the debis netting confounded the flying rats and did a good job on the cabbage whites; it confuses them as the colour is different from brassica leaves, so they just fly on by. Due to the small mesh the really good insects, hoverflies ladybirds etc. couldn't get in, but the aphids did! My main problem was whitefly I have never seen so many of them and spraying even with chemical did not really control them all that well, it was cold weather which finished them off in the end leaving a lot of dead diseased leaves to clear up.
I must remember that brassicas can grow quite tall and ensure that I raise the cage height to at least shoulder high. Waist high just causes a sore back from bending when harvesting, watering, weeding etc.
I must remember to put a slope on the roof of the cage, the weight of the winter snow bent the galvanised metal electrical conduit I use as framework.
That's this years plan I just hope I can quickly find some Calabrese seed, only three out of 45 survived some dampened off and the rest just didn't come. I can't blame the mice so it must be me.

[tontom]

and those without much common sense will be buying their veg from supermarkets at the end of this year  

[mumofstig]

I seem to get lots of whitefly what ever I do..7mm net, or enviromesh........even without netting ...........For some reason last year was very bad (bad for cabbage good for whitefly )
and chat on the forum confirmed that the sprays, organic or chemical, were not working.

So I really don't know the answer to that one 

[gallowman]

Thanks for all the replies. Seems no matter what you do its an uphill battle. I'll go with the debris netting and see what happens. Thanks again.

[viettaclark]

I know this might offend some of you but why don't we get long handled butterfly nets and eradicate the problem before eggs are laid.?
I bought debris netting last year and only teeny insects can get through. Surely this upsets the natural balance in the food chain which means more aphids?

[mumofstig]

I know this might offend some of you but why don't we get long handled butterfly nets and eradicate the problem before eggs are laid.?

Good idea....but only if you can be there to watch for them from sunup to sunset