Uh oh – the cabbage white that I saw flitting some 4 weeks ago, has now unleashed her damage….
So, yesterday, I picked off some of the caterpillars that had chomped through my brassicas. This is just one leaf! see what happens when you don’t patrol!! Action stations troops!!!
On a lighter note, my apple tree has too much fruit…the whole of the tree (its quite young) is covered in these small apples, but don’t think the branches will be able to cope, and may snap under the weight, so I’ll leave them to grow for a bit, then cut a lot of them off, see which ones are going to be the better ones to leave on.
Get me – too much of something! At the moment, that is a first (if you don’t take tomato plants…!).
I’m always amazed at the number of caterpillars you find on one leaf. Last year my Nasturtiums were covered in them. I read about growing Nasturtiums with brassicas to act as a sacrificial crop, but then another article advised not to as the Nasturtiums actually guided the butterflies to the brassicas. Hmmm, what to do?
Hi Jo – I’ve heard about nasturcians being sacrificial crops – normally the black fly hide under the large leaves, so happy days! U can’t see them! You’re right – what do you do….I just make it up and cross my fingers!!
Cat x
those are the first caterpillers I have seen this year, I think i will have to start checking my cabbages.
Apples look amazing, I seem to only have 1 apple forming on my young tree so I don’t think I need to worry about thinning out too much!
We have to net all our brassicas to keep butterflies and pigeons off them. Works well but is a bit of a pain to build frames and can look messy. Learned to live with it though. Not sure the rabbits who have started raiding the plot will be so easy to deal with…!
Hey amy! – They may seem to be the first catterpillars but the little buggers will be hiding good and proper and when you find them, they’ll shout “surprise – we were here all the time! Damn, you’ve found our hiding place”. Imps! I savaged the apples today…..oops!
Hi Liz – U know, I would love to net them, but I just cannot be bothered. I’m lucky, that my patch is in the garden, so I can just nip down and take things off, peskys wise. Makes my laziness somewhat easier. Rabbits…?! NIGHTMARE!!!!!!! Think I had one the other week, it demolished a couple of lettuce, but I blocked a hole in the fence, so fingers crossed….and I shall unleash the Beagles.
Cat x