Monday, July 18, 2011

Onions neglected; Cabbages attacked

Conventional wisdom is that onions don't like competition. Shallow roots, relatively weak upperworks (ah yes, leaves, I knew it would come to me); they're easily put off their stride. And this year's onion bed has certainly given them some competition. I'm almost embarrassed to show you this.


But see what lies beneath.


This is certainly the best onion crop I've had for the last two or three years; in fact I was on the point of giving up attempting onions because they'd been so poor. Just think what they'd be like if I'd looked after them properly!!

Meanwhile, in Fort Brassica, the netting has worked wonders in keeping pigeons off. Look at this fine specimen of a Feldenkraut

(German shredding cabbage; it'll eventually become pointy & even bigger). But right next to is this pathetic little thing

which was once a Stonehead cabbage. So what's done for that? Caterpillars of the Cabbage White butterfly, is my guess. There aren't any visible; they're probably all lying on the ground somewhere quiet clutching their bulging tums, unable to move a muscle after gorging on my cabbages.

Anyone got a sure-fire way of dealing with them?

2 comments:

Sue Garrett said...

We ended up using insect proof netting on brassicas to keep the butterflies out - odd ones get through but nothing as bad as they used to.

Gordon Mason said...

Yes, I think that's what I'm going to end up doing. Irritating though. Although not as irritating as having brassicas decimated