[pistonbroke]

I was going through one of the catalouges this morning and came across cabbage collars, which set me thinking if anyone out there made their own, if so what material do they use and how big do they need to be. I know they are not that exspensive to buy but if I can make my own out of recycled material that would be great.

[Stevens706]

I made some out of left over roofing felt, also did the same for putting around strawberries, to deter slugs and keep the fruit off the soil.

[woodburner]

If I ever get as far as planting out brassicas, I want to try making collars out of cardboard as I have a plentiful (and free) source. Don't know if it's a good idea or not though! 

[Salmo]

Almost anything. Carpet, underlay, pond liner, cardboard, roofing felt. They need to be about 15cm diameter.

The cabbage root fly lay their eggs on the soil next to the cabbage stem. When the maggot hatches it crawls down the stem and feeds on the roots. If the eggs are layed on the disc they dry up and die.

[simpson-allen]

If you use waterproof material, won't you have to continually lift each collar up when you want to water the plants?

[suesowsseed]

Hi, I used roofing felt to make my collars, the cabbages didn't grow very well and you've got me thinking maybe they didn't get enough water because of them. What does anyone else think?

[Goosegirl]

I would have thought that anything like thick cardboard, old carpet or underlay or felt would be ok. I wouldn't worry about the plants not getting enough water because it will filter underneath in the soil to the plant from the sides; even if you have to water in hot weather (ha!), give them a good soaking - 15cms of collar isn't that large an area to be concerned about.

[jazzbyrd]

I have used the cabbage collars , carpet underlay and cardboard. I liked using the cardboard and the underlay. I found the cabbage collars a little stiff and felt at times I would damage the stem of my brassicas!!

Jazz