[viettaclark]

I've been pleasantly surprised at the lack of cabbage whites in my garden this year (so far!) Has anyone else noticed numbers are down?
I don't know if it's because I've netted the shelving unit that's holding all my brassicas ready to plant out (they've not been attracted to the garden like last year) or if the hard Winter took it's toll.
Then I Googled the life cycle of the little beasties and there are TWO flying/breeding times...May/June and July/August so there's another possible onslaught due next month.
Can't plant out the brassicas (which are out-growing their pots) until the onions/garlic/shallots are ready in (hopefully!) three weeks or so.
It looks like I'll have to debris net the raised bed, which means a mammoth sewing session to join two bits AND sew up the lines of holes (yes...they do get in those holes!) and a real pain accessing the bed for weeding etc.
Ho hum....

[sunshineband]

Yes they do get in those little holes 

Found one inside the debris netting mini tunnel I've made over the brassicas, busy laying away.

Then when I looked hard I also found some little green caterpillars so it wasn' the first to visit 

[compostqueen]

I let clumps of nettles grow round the edges of my plot for them to lay their eggs on, rather than my brassicas 

[mumofstig]

I commented on here a few days ago that there were a lot less this year...we had some and then another cold spell that seemed to finish them off.
Still netting everything cabbagey though

I sowed up the holes in my netting on the sewing m/c simples

[spiderlyn]

I've been using Garlic Wonder on my brassicas..(and carrots/fruit bushes and anything else that gets in the way of my spray) fingers x'd no problem with piskie pest so far! and they are not netted..  on the other hand.. my next door neighbour has been savaged by cabbage white  The wonders of GARLIC! "I'M LOVIN IT"!

[pigeonpie]

We've noticed that there don't seem to have been as many cabbage whites around here yet either.  I enviro mesh my brassicas and then plant a couple of spares in a different part of the veg garden that the butterflies and subsequent caterpillars can help themselves to.  A garden without butterflies and insects is a garden without birds.

[8doubles]

I had a small lettuce in a pot that the sparrows had not touched (unusual) it was eaten overnight by a cabbage looper caterpillar.

The caterpillar was by itself and looked lonely so i took it to play with the chickens.

Very few cabbage white around this area at the moment , i put it down to the cold winter as there were zillions of them about this time last year.

[kermit]

Nothing on my brassicas yet, but 3 large cabbage white 'pillars on my roses so far - decimated a load of beautiful buds, just before they were about to burst open.  No brownie points for me this month    Never seen them eating rose buds before...

[Madame Cholet]

I was wondering the same, my first time for brassicas a few fast maturing calabrese and some sprouts. I netted them until they were too tall for the frame which stopped the lovely pigeons.  I've not seen any white butterflies in the garden or eggs, plenty of white fly. I have a small patch of nettles.
I was wondering about garlic, may try it any way.

[Jamie Butterworth]

Ive not seen any yet this year, which i was suprised about because the amount that were on my sprouts last year could have doubled there numbers

[JayG]

Very few and far between here this year, but unfortunately that is also true of most butterflies, and I hadn't seen a single honey bee until I went to Bressingham Gardens in Suffolk last week (and then not many.) 

[Salmo]

I think I am right that the early cabbage whites are ones that have overwinterd as chrystalists tucked into nooks and crevises sheds, fence posts etc. These may have been killed by the Winter frosts this year? Also the very sharp frosts we had in May could have killed some of those that had emerged.

[AndyRVTR]

sssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... they will hear you..... 

[Sid]

 

We saw two cabbage whites at the lottie today >:(but they are the first we have seen so far.
Haven't netted caulies or brussels hope we will be okay,but I do check them regularly for bugs and squish when necessary

[Dave Mack]

I've been picking all the little green b*gga's off my spouts today ... i put them all in the council compost bin to play in there  haven't seen mummy or daddy though .