Thursday 21 February 2019

Caterpillar Hell

For the past number of years, I have grown some vegetables. In 2015 I had created two raised beds in order to make things easier for myself. Most raised beds are constructed using wood to a height of about 30 centimetres, but I decided to use concrete, and I raised the beds much higher.
One of my favourite vegetables is Brussels Sprouts. The interesting thing about sprouts is that they are also favoured by caterpillars and slugs. Back in 2017, I selected three plants from the row of seeds I had planted and set them about 60 centimetres apart. As the butterfly season approached I covered two of the plants with netting and left the third uncovered. The result was that the butterflies colonised this plant, while the others were saved for our use.
This year I intend growing vegetables again and I put a permanent netting in place. Nothing will be planted here until mid-April but I like the idea of being able to keep all the home-grown food for ourselves rather than feeding the invaders. I will need to do some further adjusting during the summer because the sprouts will rise higher than this netting. How will I stop the slugs? I think I’ve got it sorted.

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