At the age of 75 this is my second year at attempting to grow vegetables so I have a lot to learn. Last year none of the carrots I planted came up, the cabbages were full of slugs, the onions had a bad time because I planted them to close to the cabbages but the potatoes did alright. This year I took a chance and planted potatoes in February and was lucky in that they did well. As I did not do well last year with carrots and parsnips I planted seed tapes which failed but by looking at this forum I’m learning.
Before I started vegetable gardening I used to watch butterfly’s from my window and think what pretty things they are. Now, I’m becoming paranoid about them. I started some next year’s cabbage plants in the greenhouse and then put them outside for a couple of weeks but when I was ready to plant them out I saw lots of little holes in them. When I held them upside down to knock them out of their pots I saw what I now know are aphids on the underneath of their leaves but I was told that they did not cause the holes as it was most likely Cabbage beetle.
So, I’m bothered with slugs, aphids, cabbage beetle and caterpillars and I hoped to find an insecticide to kill the lot.
I recognise that it is too easy to misunderstand or take exception to what is written on a forum or E-Mail as I learnt to my cost when a few years ago my Managing Director told me to find a course to send his Secretary on to help her organise her time better. I found a course and told her but she didn’t want to go so she went winging to her boss, my Managing Director. Although I was in the next office the self-important twit sent me an E-Mail asking why I had arranged the course for her. Like a fool I replied to the E-Mail telling him that it was because he told me to and before I knew it we were in the middle of a bad tempered argument. I know now that I should have just popped my head round his door and asked for a minute of his time but I didn’t. I have not taken exception to anything on the forum although I have to admit to expecting instant answers which give me idiot proof advice.