Scaffold netting?

[Bonjour]

Has anyone here any experience of using scaffold netting as a cover for brassicas to keep off the dreaded Cabbage White butterflies? Does it let enough light through?

I see on Amazon that you can get 2M x 50M for £24.99. 2M wide would be perfect for covering the hoop frames I've made out of plastic pipe and roof batten. Some of these currently have bird netting on them for covering strawberries but it's too wide a mesh to keep out butterflies, so maybe the scaffold netting would be OK for over strawberries too?

[Thelma Sanders]

Brassicas grow fine under debris netting, I've used both blue and green, the colour doesn't seem to matter wrt light. If you buy the wider width it may have a row of slits along the fold line. It is important to sew/tie these up to stop critters getting in.
You can't use debris netting over strawberries while they are flowering, as they need to be pollinated, but after that you can pull it over again to stop the berries getting eaten

[Bren In Pots]

Bonjour most of us use Debris netting for our brassica cages here's a few older threads for you to have a look at :-

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...use_83544.html

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ing_93526.html

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ing_99221.html

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...net_91075.html

[Starch]

Worked in construction until recently and there was always loads laying around nobody could be bothered to reuse it so I have it over a lot of my raised beds, works really well.

[mcdood]

Like others on here I use scaffold netting over brassicas to stop the cabbage white and the pigeons, sometimes over peas again to stop the pigeons. Over strawberries to protect fruit from the birds although I have had rodents chew straight through the net to get to the fruit which is a pain in the butt. For carrot fly or allium leaf miner you will need something finer like enviromesh type stuff.
I find 2m is a bit tight for my beds (approx 1.4m wide) so I use 3m and even that is sometimes a bit tight for taller brassicas like sprouts and PSB in winter.

[Bonjour]

Brilliant! Thanks all for the quick replies. I'll get some ordered.

I don't have beds as such, so my hoops are long and fairly narrow to cover a row of brassicas, hence the 2M circumference of the hoops.

Good point about not covering strawberries until fruit has set, I'll bear that in mind.

Any thoughts on cheaper alternatives to Enviromesh for carrots? I've heard that some use old net curtains but I wouldn't think they were very durable and also a bit small to cover much.
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[mcdood]

Any thoughts on cheaper alternatives to Enviromesh for carrots?
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Search for insect mesh on Amazon and you should find some, I seem to remember getting 10m lengths 3m wide for around £20. Some people just raise the containers they grow the carrots in as apparently the fly doesn't fly above 2ft. Not convinced of this myself if she gets a gust of wind behind her

[Bonjour]

Search for insect mesh on Amazon and you should find some, I seem to remember getting 10m lengths 3m wide for around £20. Some people just raise the containers they grow the carrots in as apparently the fly doesn't fly above 2ft. Not convinced of this myself if she gets a gust of wind behind her

I'm going to try some in old loft water tanks this year, as well as at ground level. I think I'll still cover them though because carrot fly tends to be rife where I grow.

[mcdood]

There are some supposedly resistant varieties too like flyaway and resistafly but I don't have any personal experience of how good they are.

[quanglewangle]

Scaffold netting makes very good windbreak for greenhouses and plants. Seems to let just enough wind through to stop the turbulence that comes with solid windbreaks.

[bario1]

You can get black debris netting too, if you prefer a more natural/neutral look on your plot.

[Snadger]

Brilliant! Thanks all for the quick replies. I'll get some ordered.

I don't have beds as such, so my hoops are long and fairly narrow to cover a row of brassicas, hence the 2M circumference of the hoops.

Good point about not covering strawberries until fruit has set, I'll bear that in mind.

Any thoughts on cheaper alternatives to Enviromesh for carrots? I've heard that some use old net curtains but I wouldn't think they were very durable and also a bit small to cover much.
.

This is what I used on my carrots last year with some success.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/INSECT-SC...c134d024a80fbe

[rary]

You can buy cheap net curtains from IKEA and they last for several years

[Mr Bones]

Probably posted this pic before but back in 2014 I contacted a scaffolder who was pleased for me to take away whatever used netting I wanted (saved him having to dispose of it). Most of it had only been used once or twice and some roll ends were unused. It's still going strong.
For brassica use we sewed up the tie down holes to keep the cabbage whites out.