Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Standard width 3.5 metres (11ft 4) height 1.9 metres (6ft 3) lengths from 2 metres upwards, other widths available from 2.5 metres to 4 metres. The cabbage white larvae in particular can make the leaves of a healthy brassica crop look like a lace doily in no time. Using either a soft butterfly netting, which is easy to drape over frames, or our rigid plastic mesh butterfly netting will help your say goodbye to skeletal leaves. Soft to the touch but definitely hard on butterflies, this netting is the ideal material to keep your home-grown vegetables and brassicas in particular caterpillar-free. Butterfly netting is a must for both the serious gardener and the 'grown your own' novice alike, although butterflies are not all bad news - they feed on nectar and pollinate flowers – their caterpillars can do extraordinary damage to your brassica crops.
Whatever structure is used to support butterfly netting, it is important to securely peg or weigh down the bottom of the net to ensure that there are no gaps. Brassicas need to be protected from pigeons and cabbage white butterflies, and the easiest way to do this is to build a simple netted brassica cage. You can make your own hoop frame quite easily and it won’t take long… Once you’ve got your frames in place, you can cover them with a sheet of horticultural fleece or netting to protect plants from pests. Be sure to secure the cover to the ground – you can use heavy stones. A Brassica cage should ideally be at least 2 feet (60 cm) high to provide sufficient space for the plants to grow and to protect them from pests. However, for taller Brassica varieties, such as kale or Brussels sprouts, a height of 3-4 feet (90-120 cm) may be necessary to accommodate their vertical growth. The cage should be tall enough for adequate airflow and easy access for maintenance and harvesting.
Winter and spring harvests
Make sure the brassica net is propped up by hoops that are as high as the plants will get so that the net can stay there for the whole season. You can also prop the netting up with bamboo canes topped with jars. For broccoli, cavolo nero, red russian kale, and sprouts, 1.5m tall is about right. For cabbages, cauliflower, romanesco, turnips/swede and curly kale, 60-70cm would be fine. Choose mesh netting as pictured for best protection. Plant nasturtiums as a sacrificial crop nearby
A superior weighted netting, weighing in at 17g per square metre. Perfect for protecting your brassica crop and other vegetables in the kitchen garden or on the allotment.Simply push two bamboo lengths halfway into the soil on either side of the row of plants you wish to cover (about 2 foot apart should be fine, but play around with distances to suit your plot). These will form the base of the hoop, holding it steady. Now thread the hose pipe onto the bamboo at each end, pushing it right down to the soil if you can, to make the hoop. Repeat this at 2-3 foot intervals as pictured. This netting has a mesh size too compact for bees to fit through. As a result, if you are growing crops that need pollinating, remove this netting during flowering. All you need is a few equal lengths of old hosepipe measuring around 100-130cm (we’ve used an old drip hose) and a few short lengths of bamboo, approx 40-50cm long. Cover your crops – use a very fine mesh netting to protect plants from pests such as flea beetle, egg-laying moths and butterflies (which produce caterpillars) and birds. These net cloches allow sunlight and water to pass through while preventing pests from getting in
Great Deal 
New Comment