purple sprouting brocolli ruined?

[KayJay]

I am trying PSB for the first time this year and of course the caterpillars have enjoyed every leaf.
My question is , is it still worth me waiting for some sprouting brocolli- will I get some?
Thanks, Kath

[di]

Do you know,the same thing happened to me...that & some seedlings went a bit leggy!
PSB is my all time favourite veg & I was sure I'd missed the boat in getting more in,however a teacher at the school bought some little plug plants this week from a GC,so I'm hoping it may be worth trying afterall???

If the caterpillars have totally decimated your plants then I'd guess you'd be lucky to get anything from them,but someone may be along who can tell you differently.

[Alison]

Have they eaten the growing tip? If so then I'm pretty sure you've missed the boat, otherwise you might just be OK so long as you squidge any catepillars and make sure you net in future.

[JenFeet]

Hi there.

All our brassica leaves were absolutley ravaged by caterpillars but the bits we wanted to eat were all great (trying to convince the OH that it's natural and good for you wasn't so good though!)

Couldn't eat the cauliflowers as they'd gone brown but at least the curds grew despite lack of leaves eaten by caterpillars. Not sure we'll get sprouts though as they seem to have stopped growing.

Best of luck
Jen x

[KayJay]

Thanks everyone, I will have a look to see if the growing tip is there.
I have squished lots of caterpillars but obviously some enjoy hiding after dinning on my leaves. hopefully i will get some psb so i'll leave them in.
Kath

[bluemoon]

Unless you've something else waiting in the wings to go in their place, you've nothing to lose by leaving them where they are and seeing what happens. The only reliable way to keep your brassicas free from caterpillars is to use a fine net (like enviromesh) to keep the butterflies off.

[Alison]

The only reliable way to keep your brassicas free from caterpillars is to use a fine net (like enviromesh) to keep the butterflies off.

And then just worry about the slugs........

[bluemoon]

And then just worry about the slugs........

*sigh* I know, we can't have everything.

[Pumpkin Becki]

My pathetic little seedlings have hardly grown at all (and i sewed them months and months ago), so last week I bought some plug plants online. I haven't received them yet, but if they are still offering plants at this time of year then there must be hope for them to produce a crop. I presume they won't do much over the winter, but zoom into action as the weather warms up. The different plugs I've ordered should crop from Feb into April. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[womble]

I bet you will get a crop, PSB is the only brassica I have found that can bounce back from a severe cabbage white attack and still produce a crop.
Keep them clear of everything from now on.