Bloody Brussels and broccoli infested with caterpillars

Don't want to use chemicals – I have been laboriously picking the little blighter's off – has anyone any experience of using the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae?

Also any winter veg ideas would be appreciated – I have leeks in and doing well as well as Brussels and broccoli anything else?

Cheers

Absolutely no idea, but as i'm just about to bite into a sweetcorn fresh from the garden If that helps 🙂

Cheers Ian – enjoy!

Cover your plants with netting/fleece so the butterflys can't get in (next year)
And grow sprouting broccoli/kale that grows through Winter and is ready before the pests (and when your garden isn't producing much else veg-wise)

Cheers nostoc – looking at horti fleece as we speak.

If your broccoli has been decimated (all leaves eaten down to the veins) you can cut the plant down to a stalk and cut an X in the top of it. It will then re-grow later on, through the winter. We had the same thing a couple of years ago, and it was very successful. I've never seen so many caterpillars in my life!
You can plant peas over the winter to get an early crop. We're also trying to grow turnips, broccoli and cabbages but the slugs are having a field day. I do a caterpillar check most days and squash any babies that I find – SQUISH!!!

Not sure if it works for caterpillars but I know soapy water works for aphids???

about to plant winter hardy spring onions, spinach and onion and garlic sets. Also some salad leaves will survive under caloshes. There are some winter oriental cabbages as well.

We are going to fleece our brassicas next year as we had a similar problem. you can pick off all the caterpillars in the world but the wee ones still get into the heads and don't appear until they are on the plate.

They killed our cabbage and caulliflower this year. I didn't realise you could leave the remainder of the stalks though. We've pulled them up now.

Yep they can survive – for netting the idea (from gardeners world) where you put 4 canes in, put the netting over the canes and then gradually lift the netting as the Broccoli grows looks good.

The butterflies will attempt to lay eggs on any leaves touching the netting. Growing Nasturtiums elsewhere in the garden is supposed to attract the butterflies away from the broccoli(hasn't worked for me) but it does at least give me a space to move the caterpillars to (I'm not allowed to squish them when my wife / kids are watching).

i think i'm going to build a frame out of treated 2×1" and cover it in fleece or fine netting

scotabread – was wondering about soapy water myself, have had good results previously on aphids although short lived!

Michael – hardy onions / garlic – nice one

Darc-L Spotted that idea on GW for what i thought was netting – fleece on canes I like it

Surfr – Nice pic Dan! LOL!

we've just started buying this mag, some great advice in there

http://www.kitchengarden.co.uk/

Michael

Cheers – great site!