Skip Channel4 main Navigation
Explore Channel4
Food
4Homes
4Car
News
Sport
See All

Help! I have grown a few cauliflower the leaves are begin eaten, i've put some shinny cds as a deterant if its the birds but if its insects i don't know what to use. i also want to know if its worth keeping the cauliflower that have barely no leaves

By carrotsandonions on 10 June 09 in Pests and diseases | Report misuse

3 Responses

  • The most common cause of this are cabbage white caterpillars, they are horrid little critters though the adult butterflies are conversely very pretty!
    The best thing to do when growing any of the brassica family of which caulis are one is to put up a defence.
    I use some blue plastic pipe you get from somewhere from Wickes, it comes in a 25m roll, cut this into pieces to put over your brassicas in semi circular hoops.
    Next you will need some netting to put over this to stop the adult butterflies laying eggs. The best and cheapest thing to use for this is debris netting which you can buy from ebay from the suppliers on there. You will then make a large cloche over your plants and the butterflies won't be able to lay their eggs.
    Hope that is of some help, i know how soul destroying it can be putting in plants and having them munched by the local pests!!

    By miffy on 11 June 09 | Report misuse

  • If it's cabbage whites, one thing you can do is look for the eggs every day on the underside of leaves - small yellow eggs...and scrape them off. Or if they have already developed into caterpillars remove as many as possible. If it's slugs, try a slug trap with a little cider or beer, or go out in the eveing - 9pm ish - with a torch if necessary and pick them off. I try to avoid slug pellets as they are so poinsonous to small animals that may eat them...Good luck.

    By Nicky on 10 June 09 | Report misuse

  • our ll probly there being attacted by cabbage whites, i built a frame and have put netting over it it. In this i plant all my greens and any thing where the leaves are likly to get to eaten to keep the cabbage whites out. get some slug pellets in the ground to to keep leave eating slugs at bay

    By burysteve on 10 June 09 | Report misuse

Channel 4 © 2009. Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of external websites.