Question about netting

[ThomsonAS]

I've had my allotment a few seasons now but decided back in Spring to have a serious try with crops outside my comfort zone. In the past, if something's not worked well first time, I've given up on it. This is fine if you like broad and french beans, sweetcorn, spinach, beetroot, onion, parsnip, leek, rhubarb and soft fruits.

I'm working this year on getting decent yields from crops I've done less well with (specifically, peas, carrot, brussels, caulis and cabbage).  As part of this, I've used netting or mesh cloches to deter carrot fly, cabbage white butterfly as well as the ubiquitous pigeons.

My question is whether it's necessary to keep the crops covered now they're well-established or, now they're no longer so vulnerable, if I can shift the nets to cover more recent sowings of vulnerable crops?

Advice welcome.

[ThomsonAS]

[Tee Gee]

I've done less well with (specifically, peas, carrot, brussels, caulis and cabbage)

Peas I find is very much down to variety and when you sow them!

I never sow my peas insitu before June although I do fetch a few on in cell trays under glass to get an early start.

I haven't sown my main crop yet!

I am more or less the same with carrots and I haven't sown these yet either!

These will be covered with fleece their entire growing season!

The brassicas I find it is best to sow these around the end of March beginning of April in plug trays (1-2 seeds per plug)

Once they are showing the first real leaves I pot them up into 3" pots and place them in the cold frame.


I am never in a hurry to plant them out as I find they grow quite well in the cold frame then I plant out usually in early to mid May, when they just romp away!

This is also a good way to reduce the effect of club root if you have that on your plot because each plant has a good rootball by this time and can cope better with the club root.

Another thing I find with Brassicas is: I only grow F1 varieties as you more or less get what it says on the packet, so it is worth the extra expense.

Regarding netting!

Invest in in some good knitted type netting and it will last you for years I think my netting is teens of years old.

I find that once Cabbage & Sprouts are around a foot high the pigeons don't seem to bother much but it is quite different with the Caulies and Broccolies, the Pigeons will take these all the year round given the chance!

I don't always cover my fruit but if I do I wait until the flower has set and the berry is forming before I cover them until harvesting time.

[goodlife]

Somebody on our allotments asked similar question from me just yesterday...
When brassica leaves start getting bigger, tougher(mature) and the plants taller...often they are being ignored..
With all these strong winds that we've been having recently...my netting been all over the place. Some I have straightened up over the plants and on other areas I haven't....with the result that one bed was attacked straight away and other bed not touched at all.
I don't mind odd few nibbles..but they don't usually stop there until they have 'demolished' the whole plant.
On my plot I have to keep peas covered until the plants are ready for cropping...birds don't leave the leaves alone..and on other plots nobody cover their peas..!!
Carrots I keep covered all the time.
I've noticed on our site that not many do cover their brassicas against insect damage..just against the birds when the plants are young.
So my advice is...'play by the ear'...play safe when the plants are young and see what happens when they get on a bit.

[Plot22]

I agree with most points raised so far because an allotment without peas, carrots and brassicas is difficult to visualise. First on brassicas I grow them in modules then when they have 2 leaves I transplant them into cardboard pots from the £1 shop. It is surprising how quickly they grow once transplanted. A few days before I transplant them into their permanent site I  dig out the holes and water the holes and the entire area with a watered down solution of Armillatox or Jeyes Fluid.
I do have club root but the combination of a large route ball plus Armillatox helps to produce a decent crop. I forgot one thing I always put a small piece of rhubarb into each hole and do not forget to cut the bottom off each cardboard pot.
As regards netting I inherited 2 scaffold nets which I utillise but I have bought 2 enviromesh  nets one for the Brussels and one for the carrots. My carrot net is so big I can crawl into it close the cover behind me and weed and thin them out without fear of carrot fly. I am always amazed when I see allotment holders lift up the fleece or netting to weed the flies are in straight away.
As regards peas I chit them on damp kitchen towel in 3 or 4 plastic boxes in a cupboard in my office at home . I watch them like a hawk and at the first sign they are chitting I set them. I set a row last week and they were through in a couple of days. I cover them with wire netting until they are about 2 inches and then take the wire netting off and replace it with orange barrier netting about 2 foot tall. I hope my tips help it is very much a learning process . I tried everything with carrots without success until I bought the big net. I was in there yesterday thinning them out.