Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Treehugger on June 16, 2006, 10:26
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Hello everyone,
I remember reading somewhere that you can spray brassicas with a dilute solution of salt to deter pests (I tried to grow calabrese last year but the few bits that the pigeons didn't shred were turned to lace by flea beetles - so not a huge success!!)
Has anyone heard of this? I'd be interested to know if it works, and how much salt/water you have to use.
Chris in Ludlow
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Disolve 2oz. of common salt in 1 gallon of cold water, I read this recently in a book called Organic gardening by Lawrence D. Hills, not tried it yet, but hope give it a go this season.
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I thought salt for was bad for them, because we were talking the other week about using sea water amongst other things because they say we are short of water.
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Thanks Ladybird, I think I'll try it too as my plot is completely organic (it's a rule of the site).
Sorry I haven't seen the sea water argument - maybe salt wouldn't suit everything, I don't know. I think the idea is that it's disappeared from the food by the time you eat it. Hope so anyway! I must say it appeals to me more than squirting the crops with dilute oxalic acid from boiled-down rhubarb leaves, another organic remedy recommended by a fellow plot-holder. Eek...
:shock:
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Yes Treehugger, you are absoutely right, the salt has gone from plants by the time we eat them, as for the salt being harmful, I can't how. after all seaweed makes a wondweful soil conditioner.! Good luck with the spraying, hope it does the trick.
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All a matter of quantity - a salt spray is one thing but watering with seawater would add loads of salt to the soil.
I'm sure I read somewhere that brassicas were a seaside plant (seakale?)
One thing I do know is that L D Hills was a brilliant gardener.
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... for treehugger, keeping pests away from brassica is another job the mesh does well :roll:
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Thanks for the mesh tip Supersprout, just read it in the Pea Disaster thread. I think I'll invest in some as the plastic netting stuff drives me mad. Can you recommend a particular type/brand?
The belt-and-braces approach should beat the blighters eventually :tongue2:
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Here's another fine mesh you've got me into treehugger :wink:
Horticultural mesh (Enviromesh is one brand) comes in a variety of widths and lengths, so you should be able to get something that's pretty much tailor-made.
Suppliers of bulk rolls of mesh:
http://www.lbsgardendirect.co.uk
http://www.kayshorticulture.com/
http://www.harrodhorticultural.com
other contributors may have more
This year I got some hoops:
http://www.lbsgardendirect.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=R-VCCLOCHE&name=cloche+hoop&sfile=1&jump=0
Good luck! :D
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don't forget ebay as a great resource for garden stuff cheap.
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I got my mesh, with holes about 10mm maybe bit smaller from Wilkinsons. £3.50 bag and 2 bags covered my brassica area which is 8 foot by about 15 foot. It more that touched the ground each side, but not at the ends, so I filled that in by stitching some old bits of bean netting over the ends. Must say, not seen my brassicas look this good in the 4 years I've been growing.
Mind you, something is nibbling the cabbages in the polytunnel, don't know if its flea beetle as I can't see anything around the plants. Its only touched 3 plants so far, so I'm leaving them there, hoping whatever it is will stick to those 3 plants and leave the others alone!!!
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Thanks for all the help everyone, that's brilliant :D
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Good old Wilkinsons to the rescue again. :D :lol: :wink:
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Where would we be without Wilkinsons and a pound shop???? lol
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Absolutely!
Just one more question - how often should I spray the plants with the salt solution? More than just once presumably.
I really appreciate all this help. Lotty folk are very friendly!
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Mmmmm, might try the salt solution. I have been saying for the past 3 weeks that my brassicas are the best ever, only to find a load of tiny caterpillars on some of them tonight when I went out to water. squashed what I could find, but how did their parents get past my netting???
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Kept on being intrigued by mentions of Wilkinsons, so went onto their website, only to see a map of the UK on their homepage, neatly cut off at a line from Carlisle to Newcastle. :roll:
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Kept on being intrigued by mentions of Wilkinsons, so went onto their website, only to see a map of the UK on their homepage, neatly cut off at a line from Carlisle to Newcastle. :roll:
Don't worry, when I worked in London they thought that Yorkshire started after Watford and on the rest of their map was the legend 'Here be Yokels'
Shame you haven't got a Wilkos near you though - they do have some very good bargains. I got 2 rolls of green plastic covered wire fencing in the clearance sale reduced from 9.99 a roll to 1p. I kept expecting to be arrested as I left the shop.