What size mesh?

[shirlthegirl43]

How small does mesh have to be to keep the worst critters of the brassicas please? My wonderful OH (Madmax) built a lovely cage affair for the brassica bed yesterday and now I would like to know the best stuff to keep the veg fit for us to eat this year - we had a cauliflower last year which had so much wildlife in it it could have had a part on an Attenborough programme! We do seem to get a good deal of flea beetle but I have derris dust to control that this year (unless there are 'greener' alternatives that I could use) but I really need to keep the butterflies fluttering by this time!

Cheers folks.

[heebiejeebie]

I'm using 15mm netting on one bed and lightweight fleece on the other. The advantage of the fleece is (I think - no expert here!) that you can have it touching the plants and the flutterbyes can't lay through it like they could with the mesh.

[shirlthegirl43]

Thanks Heebijeebie. I have pond mesh which is about 1cm mesh and I also have a couple bits of fleece. Madmax made the 'cage' big enough for me to go in and weed without too much bending down. Maybe I will put fleece on the sides and use the pond mesh as the roof. Do you think that would work?

[heebiejeebie]

I would've thought so.

[shirlthegirl43]

Works a treat against the biggest pest - younger son's cat!!

[dwrudd]

I have used scaffold netting on mine. Its really fine, cheap and comes in 3m wide rolls ( 50 m for £40 ).

I have some blue plastic water pipe in 2.5m lengths stuck in the ground to form hoops. Drape the netting over them and peg down the best cover you have ever seen!!! Ace

Darren