Advice on netting please

[Dr Pips]

Hi All,

I've recently taken on part of a friends allotment as he doesn't have the time to do all of it. One part is 5 x 3 metres and hasn't been used in a long time so I'm going to put potatoes in (already chitting).

The other part is smaller, about 3 x3 metres, but the soil looks much better, so I'm going to use it to grow a range of things, hopefully a row each of french beans, red cabbage, brocolli and then some brussells, and a couple of courgettes. The guy on the plot next to us builds cages to net off sections for about £20 which seems a bargain. My question is, I'd like a netted area for growing that many greens, but would I be able to grow courgettes and french beans in an area that's netted? Would all the things I want to grow benefit from being netted?

Thanks,
Dom

[w33blegurl]

I think the french beans will be too tall to grow under a netted cage (assuming it is the kind of cage I'm imagining) unless they are some sort of dwarf bean? The courgettes prob wont need netting anyway and can get quite big. The cabbage/broccoli etc would be good to net to keep off the pigeons and depending on the netting butterflies!

[Thelma Sanders]

You won't get any courgettes under fine netting as the bees won't be able to fertilise the flowers.

[Muddy_Boots]

The only things you should net are the Brassica family as pigeons will strip these down to a stump if given the chance, and red fruits such as Strawberries and Raspberries as the Blackbirds will strip those.

All other plants should really be left open for the bees and/or other insects to do their thing, some beans are self pollinating but you shouldn't rely on that being the case.

[Dr Pips]

The ones he makes are big walk in cages, so big enough for raspberry canes etc.

So net the broccoli, Brussels and cabbage, leave the rest?

[Cadalot]

Here are a selection of my netting hoop frames for Sprouts, Cabbages, Strawberrys, Onions and a couple of portable frames

[Dr Pips]

Here are a selection of my netting hoop frames for Sprouts, Cabbages, Strawberrys, Onions and a couple of portable frames

I like those. Them being portable makes crop rotation a little easier as well.

[MarkPelican]

I do something similar to Cadalot but with bigger mesh. I net to keep the birds off brassicas, strawberries and currants and butterflies off the brassicas so a one inch mesh is OK, rather than debris meeting which stops the bees for the fruit.

[Cadalot]

I do something similar to Cadalot but with bigger mesh. I net to keep the birds off brassicas, strawberries and currants and butterflies off the brassicas so a one inch mesh is OK, rather than debris meeting which stops the bees for the fruit.

I wouldn't use anything less that debris netting on Cabbages and Sprouts I've known people sow up the cable tie slots because they are worried about the cabbage whites folding their wings flat to get in.

[Thelma Sanders]

The only things you should net are the Brassica family as pigeons will strip these down to a stump if given the chance, and red fruits such as Strawberries and Raspberries as the Blackbirds will strip those.

All other plants should really be left open for the bees and/or other insects to do their thing, some beans are self pollinating but you shouldn't rely on that being the case.

Nowadays, we have to put fine nets on onions and leeks to protect them from Allium leaf miner and Leek Moth. Crops have been devastated the last few years

[arch01]

Nowadays, we have to put fine nets on onions and leeks to protect them from Allium leaf miner and Leek Moth. Crops have been devastated the last few years

I put netting over my shallot sets until they get established because the birds yank them out looking for bugs. And often I can't find the bulbs when they do get to them--no idea what happens to them!

[MarkPelican]

Cadalot: Our cabbage whites must be bigger than yours , they don't get in often. Anyway you can always squash the results.

[Alison]

I wouldn't use anything less that debris netting on Cabbages and Sprouts I've known people sow up the cable tie slots because they are worried about the cabbage whites folding their wings flat to get in.

Same here and a caterpillar can do a lot of damage in the days I can't get to the plot.