Cauliflower

[Dorothyrouse]

Have I made a big mistake, I’ve uncovered my cauliflower, they desperately needed weeding and really the Environmesh was stopping them growing, so I’ve left them uncovered. Was this very silly?

[rary]

Dorothy when you say the enviromesh was stopping the cauli growing, in what way were they being restricted by it

[Muddy_Boots]

It's never a good idea to leave brassicas uncovered, I left my purple sprouting broccoli mature plants uncovered one spring thinking the pigeons wouldn't touch them as they were big plants, came back 2 days later to plants with no leaves.

If the local 'rats with wings' or more commonly know as pigeons get a whiff they are attackable then you may say goodbye to them within a day or two. I've known them to strip a whole section of brassicas within a couple of days of ALL the leaves just leaving the stalks and the leaf main vein. They look like they have been chomped on by a swarm of caterpillars by the time they finish. One guy was foolish enough to plant his young cabbage plants out and because it was getting dark decided to leave them and come back in the morning to net them. He turned up early next morning and thought someone had nicked his plants but on closer examination found the stumps of the plants still in the ground, the blighters were in the trees with full stomachs and belching after a great feast.

[Jungle Jane]

Pigeons have never touched my brassica here,I leave it uncovered & they don’t care,they go to the fallen bird seed area,there’s only one regular pigeon that comes here at the moment tho,four in the summer. Its like the pigeons here don’t know it’s edible or they just see the bird seed & only think of that?

[Dorothyrouse]

So far they are looking ok, and better uncovered than covered, will be interesting to see if they form cauliflowers