Spring cabbage through the winter.

Hi all,

I have got some Durham Early Cabbage in to overwinter. Do I need to protect them or will they be ok open to the elements?

Rusty

 

Pigeons et al likely to have a go at them ?

 

So will I only need to net them or put some fleece/cloch over them?

Rusty

 

My preference would be a fairly open net to keep the birds off (bit different to using fleece to keep frost off, or a very fine net for cabbage white butterfly). Snow on a fine-mesh net will collapse it, but should "fall through" a wider mesh "bird" net. I also find that mice etc. tend to eat the narrow mesh nets in Winter.

But whatever you have to hand is certainly better than nothing

 

Cheers Kristen I have some wider mesh netting that I used for the cabbages this year I will put some of that over them.

Rusty

 

I'm always amazed at how determined the pesky pigeons are at getting at my allotment brassicas.
At our site, if your net isn't sturdy, they'll all get on top of it so it bows in the middle, so that they can poke their heads through it and get at your leaves.
When you go there the next day you find the puzzle of your net still intact and the cabbages decimated!

 

Thats put a wonderfull picture in my head Kris

I've noticed you only see Wood Pigeons in pairs during the summer, but they form groups of hundreds in the winter, maybe thats why