[Carrotcake]

I have dabbled with brassicas but have not had much success, apart from my first year when I had the most amazing Purple Sprouting Brocolli.

Anyway, this year I've sown PSB, sprouts and some cabbage as we need to save some money through the winter months.

Can anyone offer some advice on the most important things to get right when planting out? To net or not to net, companion planting, position, blocks or rows, watering requirements, in fact anything will help 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[lucywil]

i  have to say i dont give them too much love and attention but i do net them because even if the pigeons leave them alone the butterflies wont

[Pompey Spud]

Advice from an old sage on the plot given to me this year was:

1. Make planting hole and fill with a mixture of compost,sharp sand,2 handfulls of lime, growmore/fb&b and an egg shell.

2.Plant into that but the most important thing is to make sure the plant hole and surrounding soil is well and truely firmed up. This will stop wind rock and the feeding hairs on the roots won't be damaged.

Water in well and net.

[plum crumble]

spot on Pompey! firming and netting were the 2 important points I'd have made.

[tontom]

forking in lime ?

[Pompey Spud]

You lost me there. 

[Jamie Butterworth]

forking in lime ?

You lost me there. 

If I am right forking in lime helps to turn the soil slightly alkaline, or is it acid, either way it helps them to grow better You can buy it from all good garden centres

[galen]

Having got it wrong with my pH's in an earlier post I do know that lime makes the soil alkaline ! I know brassica's like a slightly alkaline soil and it also (the alkaline conditions) help to keep clubroot at bay 

[thegarybrough]

Yeah, we're going with the lime this year. We're fighting against clubroot too, so will be letting our plants get a bit bigger before they go in. Thanks for the wee planting out recipe there Pompey Spud - will be trying that!

[blackbob]

i  have to say i dont give them too much love and attention but i do net them because even if the pigeons leave them alone the butterflies wont

cabbage whites are something that always baffles me.i dont mind seeing them about at all,by simply walking your crop every few days the yellow egg clusters are easily destroyed by using ya thumb and fore finger.
no need for netting or chemicals in my opinion,as for the dreaded root fly, ant killer from the pound shops works a treat.quick puff of powder around thew base of the stem and you'll have no probs.

[Pompey Spud]

The egg shell is for calcium. Apparently brassicas love it.

Oh..and i know about the lime and why...just didn't understand the question..'forking in lime'.

Lime aids flocculation..the plants uptake of nutriants..too acid and it blocks it....as well as the club root prevention.

One other thing to deter cabbage fly. Make your own cardboard cut out collars and place at the base of the plant.

And...finally..if you're unable to get to your plot unlike black'mfish'bob, please net or, the pigeons and the b/flies will. 

[Carrotcake]

Thank you everyone. Hopefully nothing can go wrong now (famous last words!)

Just one more question - we have limey soil, would you still lime it?

[mumofstig]

IMO no..it's not necessary

[Kristen]

Just one more question - we have limey soil, would you still lime it?

I would test it (with one of those little test-tube kits) to be sure as vegetable husbandry will probably make it more acid over time, but no need to rush (and best time to Lime is not until the Autumn liming the bed in the Autumn, if it needs it, will be fine)

[Pompey Spud]

Funny in that we're all different.

I'd manure a brassica bed in the Autumn than lime in the Spring.