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I love to grow kale, cavolo nero, PSB and WSB as my husband loves them, won't eat any other types of cabbage and they are virtually unobtainable in the markets here in Brittany. PSB is completely unknown here, and I've never seen cavolo nero. So I can't do without these veg in the winter.
Despite a plague of cabbage whites last year, I managed to muddle through and get a reasonable crop in the end. But a bigger problem seems to be mealy aphids. Last year I lost several kale plants to this pest, and a couple of WSB plants only just survived until the cold weather finally killed them off. This year I've grown a few tenderstem plants (again, unknown here), and just harvested the first few stalks. They had been fine up until a few days ago, but today I was disappointed to find at least one plant with all the just-ready stems covered in mealy aphids. I've had to chuck the lot from that plant, and I'm sure they will now spread to the others. They don't produce much, so was really looking forward to this small luxury crop.
With the leafy brassicas, you can go some way to controlling them by just squashing them with your fingers and washing them off, but it's impossible to clean them off when they get into the broccoli florets. Does anyone have any tips on how to control them? My winter brassicas have not been planted out yet, and am now worried that they will suffer the same fate again.
Despite a plague of cabbage whites last year, I managed to muddle through and get a reasonable crop in the end. But a bigger problem seems to be mealy aphids. Last year I lost several kale plants to this pest, and a couple of WSB plants only just survived until the cold weather finally killed them off. This year I've grown a few tenderstem plants (again, unknown here), and just harvested the first few stalks. They had been fine up until a few days ago, but today I was disappointed to find at least one plant with all the just-ready stems covered in mealy aphids. I've had to chuck the lot from that plant, and I'm sure they will now spread to the others. They don't produce much, so was really looking forward to this small luxury crop.
With the leafy brassicas, you can go some way to controlling them by just squashing them with your fingers and washing them off, but it's impossible to clean them off when they get into the broccoli florets. Does anyone have any tips on how to control them? My winter brassicas have not been planted out yet, and am now worried that they will suffer the same fate again.
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