Whats doing this to my sprouts?

[Pieman]

Hi All

Been meaning to post this for the last few days but only got down there to take a piccy today,.......any ideas whats done this to my sprouts.....




Does anybody have any ideas whats happened to them.....

[Wren]

Caterpillars. That is what is happening to them i'd say. Inspect the heart of the sprout tops and along the lengths of the leaves an keep your eyes well focused. I bet you will find green caterpillars in there. They are hard to spot unless you are looking properly as they are the same colour green as the leaves themselves. If they are cabbage white caterpillars you will spot them easier as they are darker an have yellow markings. They have done the same to my horse radish...grrr

Wren

[Snadger]

Woodpigeons!

[Wren]

But i thought woodpigeons would leave sharper looking bite marks! The bite marks are rounded like caterpillars.

Do woodpigeons leave bite marks like that too then?

Wren

[BrideXIII]

obviously it's natures way of saying 'don't grow sprouts, they taste 'orrible to humans'

[Snadger]

obviously it's natures way of saying 'don't grow sprouts, they taste 'orrible to humans'

Just cos you don't like em!

[BrideXIII]

Just cos you don't like em!

this is true, but i DO like woodpigeons. especially with a nice red wine sauce

[Snadger]

this is true, but i DO like woodpigeons. especially with a nice red wine sauce

So there IS a reason to grow sprouts.........as decoys!

[Two_Sheds]

Definitely, absolutely ... pigeons.

No doubt at all

You need nets, boy

[lynda66]

that looks the same as a broccoli plant i gave to psycho before ...... she doesn't eat the stalk bits either

[FionaH]

So it looks like pigeons, caterpillars or killer bunnies?
My cabbages look a bit like lace curtains, (no caterpillar hunting while I was away!). They are showing no sign of hearting up yet either Grrrrr

[Tam]

We have an elderly male pheasant who visits each day and scoffs the brassicas I leave un-netted after I have taken what I want. He leaves similar evidence to the wood pigeons.

[Pieman]

Hi all

Thanks all for the replies..........could definitely be pigeons - there are normally a few hanging around.....

I did have a probem in the warmer times with caterpillers on my swedes and PSB but seem to got rid of them...and especially with the colder weather....will build a little mesh net similar to what I put over my leeks to stop the pigeons from pulling them out!!! (Canes into 2 litre coke bottles and canes linking them together...)

Also how tall should the plants be - they seem especially short to me! Only about 10 inches off the ground.

[sewer rat]

I'd go with pigeons too. As for height of the plants - very much dependent on variety - some of the older OP varieties canb be as high as 3ft or more but most of the newer F1 hybrid types are shorter and more compact, but hold their buttons closer to each other.

[kitchengardner]

brussels: who'd eat 'em?

Given the time of year I'd also say wood pigeons. However, earlier today i spent about twenty minutes picking cabbage white caterpillars off of my brussels so I wouldn't want to put my mortgage on it. You should be able to see the caterpillars if they are there and can pick them off easy enough. If no sign I'd recommend netting them (or a shotgun, as others have said wood pigeon tastes a [B]lot[B] better than sprouts!)

Regards

Kitchen gardener