[Pony Girl]

I'm planning to plant out my red cabbages this weekend (in modules at the moment).

I raked some chicken manure pellets into the bed last week but have refrained from digging over as I understand they need a firm bed. The bed had lots of rotted manure added in the autumn.

I've got some brassica collars and environmesh ready (oh, and slug pellets!)

Is there anything else I need to do when planting them?  How do you make sure the ground is firm enough? Do they need lots of watering?

I haven't got any spares so I need to give them the best chance I can.

[Kleftiwallah]

Plant them as deep as you can, to the base of the true leaves and then use your heel to firm the ground around.      Cheers,     Tony.

[BabbyAnn]

what's the soil pH like?  I'm just thinking of the dreaded clubroot (used to be rife on my old plot) - so I always pop a little handful of horticultural lime in the planting hole at the same time as a matter of course.  You don't have to add lime BTW

Don't forget to water the plants in afterwards.  They don't have particular watering needs - just keep well watered especially during hot dry periods 

[mumofstig]

I water the holes I'm planting into rather than water afterwards, and add a pinch of chicken manure pellets to the hole as well, but I do have dry sandy soil that doesn't hold on to nutrients very well.

[angelavdavis]

Personally, as they are going to be in for a while and covered up with enviromesh, I lay dampened newspaper over the soil and plant through this to keep down the weeds.

[Pony Girl]

I think the soil was very slightly alkaline when I tested it in Feb (not got my notebook on me). Is that OK? It's been very well mulched with loads and loads of well rotted horse manure.

Dampened newspaper sounds like a great idea Angela.  I've already got some baby beetroot in the middle of the bed so will have to work around them. Do you usually plant first then cut hole in paper, lay over top and water? Presume you have to weigh it down as well...

[boldondig]

If you have pigeons about you need to cover them - or they will eat them - like they did mine last last year....

[angelavdavis]

Dampened newspaper sounds like a great idea Angela.  I've already got some baby beetroot in the middle of the bed so will have to work around them. Do you usually plant first then cut hole in paper, lay over top and water? Presume you have to weigh it down as well...

I usually lay paper down (at least 6 sheets at a time) overlapping before planting but you can easily maneouvre them around existing crops too.  I then cover the paper with compost from the heap to weigh it down.  I then sprinkle a small amount of slug pellets over the top once planted up.  This did us well over winter this year with the sprouts, broccolli and cabbages.  We barely had a single weed to pull which was just as well as getting through the enviromesh, which was in place to protect against the pigeons, was a battle!  At the end of winter, I simply forked it in lightly as it had practically rotted away.

[Pony Girl]

That sounds like a really good idea, I'd  :lol:definitely like to give it a go. The weeds in plot aren't too bad at the mo on the beds that were mulched well over the winter but my poor onion bed is covered - job for tomorrow!

So, sorry to sound thick but if you lay down dampened paper first is it quite easy to plant through the paper? Do you have to cut out holes? I'm sure it'll become obvious when I try it.

Little cabbages are looking good at the mo so I'll definitely be striking war on any pigeons, caterpillars, weeds and slugs that dare come near!!

[angelavdavis]

Sorry for the delay in replying.  If you wet the newspaper thoroughly, it is easy to either tear or cut through it to plant using your trowel or a knife.  You might be able to lay a grid between the onions of folded newspaper, rather than cutting holes through it if the onions are already in place.

[Plot74]

I wrap tin foil round mine prior to planting from the root to the first leaves about an inch wide and wrap round loosely this protects from attack.
John

[Pony Girl]

Thank you both!