[Rachelina]

Hello everyone,

This year, for the first time, I've started growing veg in a small (5 foot sq) raised bed in my London garden. Two of cauliflowers (I only have 4) were looking a bit droopy and after poking around at the roots I found - urgh - little white maggoty things!  I've since discovered that these are cabbage root fly larvae and that I should pull the caulis up and burn them  , but I was wondering:

- is it safe to feed the infected plants (and bugs) to my 4-week old chicks?

- if they're not all infected, is it too late to put collars on the uninfected plants (I didn't quite get the whole collaring process when I planted them out and hoped the finger-crossing method of pest prevention would work)?

- what else can I plant in the 'infected' soil (apparently I shouldn't have certain root veg or brassicas in the same patch for 3 YEARS! - I've noticed the little blighters in my radishes too). What will be safe from beasties but will also get a good shot at the growing season? So far I'm growing tomatoes, peppers, chillies, mixed lettuce, rocket, spinach, beets, onions, leeks, spring onions, radishes, courgettes and peas, but I'm happy to try something new!

Many thanks for reading,

Rachelina

[Salmo]

Cabbage root fly lay their eggs on the soil near to brassica plants and when they hatch the maggots crawl down into the soil and feed on the roots. If you put collars in place when you plant them the root fly cannot lay its eggs on the soil and should it lay them on the collar the maggots will not be able to get into the soil and will perish.

There will not be maggots in the soil before you plant and a three year space in a garden situation will make little difference as a fly emerging after the winter from last years cabbage patch can soon travel far enough to find your new crop.

If your plants are just a little wilted it might be worth washing off what is left of the roots and potting them up for a while with planty of moisture so that they form some more roots. Brassicas are pretty tough.