Shade netting on cauli

Looking back over old posts I see that some people use it - I think DD is one - and some people use 'debris' netting - and I don't know what this stuff is.

Anyway, to be precise I've used 50% shade/windbreak netting over my cauli this year and they've grown like triffids.

They're starting to head up and I don't think they're premature.  I haven't watered them at all but they've still made big plants, in a crowded bed at 2' spacing.

In the past they've made smaller plants with small heads, after not being watered at all, so I now believe in 50% shade netting.

Does 'debris' netting provide 50% shade?  Is it the stuff used on scaffolding?  It might be cheaper than the stuff I've used and I'm thinking of using netting more.

Thanks

Tom

thanks mum..

Went straight onto ebay and found loads.  But most of it doesn't specify what shade it provides, although it's a lot cheaper than what I paid.

It'll all keep the pigeons off, but I don't want to do that at the expense of slowing the crop down because of there not being enough light.

I'll stick with the 50% shade specification, 'cos I've had good results with that, and I'll get a cheap roll off ebay to compare the weave with what I've been using, so thanks for that.

As a self-confessed geek I do a lot of reading up, but on my own allotment I don't see anyone using shade netting, or 'debris' netting,  only wide mesh stuff to keep the pigeons off.  Why, I don't know, because my reading tells me that shade is beneficial, but not too much shade.

.

Tom


edited to remove blog link

  I am using shade netting (recycled from abandoned plots  ) over all my brassicas this year. More than happy...... all the veggies are growing beautifully with no holes ,slugs, cabbage whites or birds. And, I don't know if down to the cover or not, but everything is perfectly clean. I haven't had to wash a cabbage yet!

Although I haven't used shade netting in the past (but will next year) I tend to plant Brassicas in the shadiest place in my veg plot, as they don't blow as quickly in warm weather. The best cauli's I ever grew were in the shade of an old apple tree.