![]() ![]() But a really bad attack will damage the plant and lead to sooty moulds appearing on the leaves. A mild infestation will not harm the plant, and they are easily washed off in salty water once you get them home. Of course, the netting keeps you out too, so you can neither squash the eggs nor pick the crop, so unless you make a walk-in brassica cage, you will probably be frustrated.Īdult whiteflies are active throughout the year, overwintering on your kale and if you are unlucky, flying up in clouds as you pick the leaves. If they can’t physically squeeze in they will actually lay their eggs through the netting if it’s touching the leaves. Netting, Enviromesh or horticultural fleece will in theory keep the butterflies out, but they are remarkably devious, finding the slightest chink in your armour. The good news is that kale will recover from an attack, giving you a later crop in the winter once it is too cold for the caterpillars. Once they have hatched into hungry caterpillars the squashing is messier, but essential if you are going to get a decent crop. ![]() ![]() Rubbing out the eggs as soon as they are laid is the least gory solution. Enviromesh or horticultural fleece will also prevent the adults getting anywhere near your plants.Ĭabbage white caterpillars arrive a little later in the season, in June or July, with the white butterflies laying their bright yellow eggs on the underside of the leaves, and the stripey green caterpillars emerging soon afterwards, ready to strip whole plants to a skeleton if you are not sufficiently vigilant. You can also deter the adult flies from laying their eggs close to the root by placing a brassica collar or circle of carpet underlay around the stem. If you practice crop rotation you will break the cycle of last year’s pupae hatching out into the next crop. The first generation usually emerge in April, just as you are planting out. Luckily, they seem to lose interest once the plants mature, so with luck you can remove the netting once you want to start picking the crop yourself.Ĭabbage root fly can be very damaging to young transplants as they eat away at the roots and weaken the plants. Unfortunately, pigeons are brassica connoisseurs, so if they have found your patch you might need to protect your young kale seedlings with netting. ![]() To avoid clubroot disease avoid planting brassicas in the same ground for three years. After you’ve got your plants in, do the same again, trampling the ground around their roots with your feet. Bash the soil down with the back of a spade and walk around again and again. They are tall plants which shallow roots, so they need a compact soil to help them stand upright. Firm soil is also essential for good brassicas. I put them in with a good mulch of well-rotted manure or mushroom compost - these plants love it rich. Plant seedlings about 50cm apart (90cm for the larger varieties), as they can grow upwards of a metre tall. Once your seedlings are about 25cm tall, plant them out into their growing position. Let them adjust to outdoor temperatures for a few days, bringing them in at night until they are ready for the great outdoors. This is known as “hardening off”, and is valuable even for the hardiest plants if they have been cossetted in a warm place. If you have ordered our seedling kale plants, or your own seedlings are ready to go out, make sure you expose them to the elements gradually. ![]()
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