Building Brassica Cage - Size query

[Chef_uk]

Two options and I'm undecided which will offer the most protection.

Do I go 1.4m high and 1m wide or 1.65m high and 75cm wide (lengths of wood are 2.4m)? Brussels will be nearly touching 1.4 if mine get as tall as last year but I can just chop the tops off like tomatoes can't I?

Brussels Variety (Cromwell)

[Two_Sheds]

You need to consider how high YOU are: if you'll need to get in to weed etc

Also, don't let netting touch or drape on brassicas, because butterflies can still lay eggs through it, and pigeons will land, crushing foliage & pecking it through any gaps

[Chef_uk]

180cm :/ makes 1.4m quite cramped I guess.

[Newton]

I am going to get one of these. Expensive but I should get 10 years out of it.......

http://www.walk-inwonderwall.co.uk/

[VirginVegGrower]

We make short ones that you can lift off. Mr VVG made 1x1x2m (2m being the length). They fit our beds.

[Pies]

1m wide will give you a double row of crop 0.75 will be too cramped IMHO.1m wide you will not need to get in as you can reach from the sides so long as you can lift the cover up

[Ananke]

Maybe you could try doing something like this prior to building a more permenant structure, it would give you an idea of what size you'll need.

[hollychap]

cor blimey i never new brussels grew that tall

[Chef_uk]

Maybe you could try doing something like this prior to building a more permenant structure, it would give you an idea of what size you'll need.

See i tried that last year and it failed miserably. It collapsed down the middle and if I tightened it down the sides it bent the bamboo. 1m wide giving two rows would be more beneficial so i'll have to make do with the low height and resort to lifting it up to get in under. Maybe add a couple of swing extensions on each leg that elevate one end up so its not a two man job. Will have a think about that idea though as it might not work in practice Thanks for the replies all.

[Ananke]

Swing extentions sound ingenious.

Let us know what you build and maybe some pics?

[Chef_uk]

Will do

[Dynamo]

I built mine with removeable tops. By the time that any grew big enough to reach the roof, I figured they were too big for the pigeons to hurt them, and cabbage whites weren't bothered, so I lifted the lids. Any damage I sustained after I took the lids off was negligible.

[alan639]

Ananke, what is the material you've used to cover the frame

[Two_Sheds]

^ looks like debris netting to me. available on eBay

[hollychap]

Ananke, what is the material you've used to cover the frame

two sheds is right its debris netting as used by scaffolding companys you could also use old trampoline netting, worth an ask on freecycle