...I've read about using netting but I have planted alot of brassicas over a wide area and I'm not sure its cost effective.
Also if I start protecting these hobbled brassicas now will they recover or do i need to replant?
Thanks.
I questioned the validity of netting vast swathes of land to cover a few quids worth of brassicas. Decent quality netting is not cheap but I guess it lasts for a few years and then I roll it up put it in the shed and use it again the next year so it becomes cheaper the next year and so on.
My netting is about 1.5 cm square holes. It is very flat and quite stiff and lays nicely over the plants. I weigh it down with house bricks and clip it with clothes pegs on canes to keep it in the air.
Get it on as early as possible and the birds will shy away, and the cabbage white will not lay its grubby little eggs all over your cabbages. The netting does save a lot of work in the long run. Sadly it doesn't stop weeds so I have to roll it up to weed the ground.
Cabbages do recover this time of year as they have lots of growing to do but it depends on the damage inflicted by the pest. If you have spares and you are not sure about a bird damaged plant then replace it now to give the new plant the best chance.
Having said that, last year we had to dig up some bird damaged cabbage. We planted some replacement cabbages (this time under a net) and we had a nicely staggered brassica harvest.