cabbage whitefly, slugs ooh it is tough going this year

[Deleted User]

I use mesh, I hoe regularly, I keep my plot clean but I cannot beat the pesky whiteflies and the slugs with crinkly orange bases. The whiteflies fly up in a cloud as soon as I go near and my sprout plants are looking sticky and sooty. Bah

I have never seen so many of these large slimy slugs. They are pale brown and have orange bases and they are everywhere. My brassicas have not been bothered by caterpillars this year but the outside leaves are like lace curtains because of the slugs

I am doing a big rethink on what I am growing next year. I have grown brassicas for years and years but the constant humidity, warmth and dry ground conditions are leading to a whole new set of bug problems. Next year I am putting marigolds in with my cabbages and I am only growing tight ball heads as they keep slugs out. I am giving up on sprouts and big blousy sweet cabbages like piacenza

Anyone here recommend a small and sweet ballhead that is pretty trouble free

clarryd

I agree this year there is an in flux of slugs.

I collected about 120 from my garden last week as I had put down more slug pellets.

There where ones with spots on, and also ones like you describe above.
They are hugh never seen then so big before.

Rummer

I gave up on brassicas a few years ago after every scrap was eating overnight by caterpillars. It was a horrid gardening day which I have yet to recover from :eek:

I_have_spoken

I've used nematodes for the 1st time this year, not been overly bothered by slugs

[Deleted User]

found them

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2742160/Beware-cannibal-slugs-Aptly-named-vulgaris-molluscs-spotted-gardens-coming-UK-Spain-salad-leaves.html

I used nematodes this year but the effect only lasts 6 weeks and I put them down when the weather was still wet. Cost £22 so expensive. First half of the growing year was good but the new slugs are different altogether. I squash as many as I can but I am squeamish so I drop a brick on them They have even turned the outer leaves of my red drumheads to lace and normally no slug goes near them. They have climbed up to the top of my sprout plants and they are also lace curtains

macsoupdragon

For white fly we have been using a garlic and washing up liquid spray and also removing any leaves that are touching the ground. The only problem I had with slugs was with early on with my squashes so put cat litter down, cheaper than slug wool or whatever the organic equivalent is and it seemed to work

[Deleted User]

macsoupdragon wrote: »

For white fly we have been using a garlic and washing up liquid spray and also removing any leaves that are touching the ground. The only problem I had with slugs was with early on with my squashes so put cat litter down, cheaper than slug wool or whatever the organic equivalent is and it seemed to work

I just want to say thank you for that re the garlic spray. I am making some now

This year was the only year that I didn`t plant tagetes among the cabbages. I had to use py yesterday and there were terrible clouds of whiteflies plus lots of baby caterpillars, surprising as they were on top of the sprouts and well below the black butterfly net that I use. I almost had to put a scarf over my nose as there were so many whiteflies, I never had that before. The net is off so I can tackle the plants better

Today I have washed leaves with my sprayer and there were not so many at all, then I used foliar seaweed. Tonight I will start to use the garlic and washing up spray. The weather down here has been warm for many weeks and there have been many humid days, no wonder whiteflies and particularly slugs have thrived

Amazingly the ball headed F1 cabbages are looking good with very little damage. The cabbage piacenza from realseeds was attacked from all angles but the head itself remains good. I am going to continue with that one next year as it is so sweet and nice. The minicole are pristine, I only planted a few but I don`t like them very much., I find them bitter

A._Badger

Perhaps the reason why pesticides were first developed, and why many of us still use them, might at last begin to make a bit more sense to those who have been persuaded by the prevailing 'organic gardening' orthodoxy.

[Deleted User]

A._Badger wrote: »

Perhaps the reason why pesticides were first developed, and why many of us still use them, might at last begin to make a bit more sense to those who have been persuaded by the prevailing 'organic gardening' orthodoxy.

what pesticide would you use for whitefly?

A._Badger

kittie wrote: »

what pesticide would you use for whitefly?

Sadly, due to the unholy alliance of a handful of giant chemical companies, EU regulators and the activist pressure groups who nag them, the choices are now very limited. Mine, assuming it was a serious infestation would be a pyrethrum type, like Bug Clear for fruit and veg.

safestored4

It might sound silly but a few people on our allotment site have been tackling whitefly with small battery driven hand held vacuam cleaners of the sort that you use when cleaning your car. It seems to work.