caterpillars

[Kveta]

I seem to now possess several broccoli skeletons and about a billion caterpillars

think this year they are a write off (new baby has distracted me from the garden a wee bit!).

what can I do next year to prevent them?

also seem to have weevils eating my cabbages. not a successful growing season really!!

I haven't seen any yet but my nasturtiums usually get destroyed. If you're not keen on using chemicals then maybe a few sacrificial nasturtiums might help.

We grow ours inside a mesh tunnel, a bit like this It keeps pigeons off them too.

Me too, kveta! broccoli is devastated, as is kale and new wee winter cabbages. I also have been distracted by a baby ( he has mastered crawling and on to cruising). Bum!

I planted nasturtiums in the same bed. They are the biggest plant by far in my garden (excluding trees If course!) - I didn't realise they were trailing ones... The bloody caterpillars have mainly ignored the yummy nasturtiums completely, other than as a hiding place when I come to pick them off. I must have 'harvested' about 300 of the blighters!?!

That'll learn me not to net...

Has this been the worst years for pests in a while? Between the slimy slugs and the very very hungry hoarde of caterpillars, I'm not going to get a lot of home grown produce this year. Thank goodness for beans and courgettes!

chix - wow that is going on my garden wish list for next year, thanks for the link!

Pick & squish.

They'll often recover though once the caterpillar season ends, so don't panic yet (especially if you start squishing now). My kale is also skeletal, but it'll be fine come the autumn.

thanks for the tips - I have been picking and drowning when I get a minute - the bastard butterflies have got through my netting and onto my cabbages now too, grr.

next year i'll get a netting tunnel I think, I have one bed that will work on.

and yes to this year being bad for veg gardens, the slugs, snails, and caterpillars just keep on coming, it's much much worse than last summer. plus my courgette plants have so far produced 2 courgettes. carrots and potatoes were ok though, so not all bad I guess.

I've been picking and squishing for weeks now. How long does this damn the caterpillar season last?

Until it turns colder usually - maybe mid Sept/early Oct?