Your comments and tips

20 Mar 17, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)

Over the last few years I have the problem of sparrows eating off all my new seedlings planted out in early Autumn. Planted out Honi Tsai Tai, rocket, snow peas, lettuce, beetroot, green and red cabbage the other week. I have a shade cloth over to reduce the heat this time of the year but it couldn't cover all the plants. The birds went to town eating them. I went on the internet and found anti bird netting. 10x 5m $25. about 15mm mesh. This will not only keep the birds out but also cabbage moths etc. Maybe even bean fly (might double the mesh over. I also found Chinese Hong Kong people who sell it very cheap 3x 6 or 10m for less than $3. 2-3 weeks postage. I will be able to grow broccoli again now and also start earlier and finish later with my veggie growing. All you need is some PVC pipe, some pieces of wood / metal pipe about 20" long, the netting and some stakes or something to lay on the netting on the ground to stop birds etc getting in.

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27 Jun 17, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)

Further to my comments above. The cheap Chinese netting was useless. The $25 (10m x 5m) netting not the best either. I have found this on the internet - 10m x 6.5m White Cross Weave Hail Net / Bird Netting $80. It is rows of knitted cotton with a V shape running between the rows. Expensive but it will keep just about everything out. Birds, moths and probably flies and bees. The framework for the netting above was a lot of work to move to do any work in the garden. I have constructed 2 frames with 20mm conduit pipe - 2m x 2m x1m high. Had to buy the 3 way elbows on the internet to join it all together. A place that sells hot house/shade house stuff. They are a little flimsy but with two people are very easy to move around. I intend to also put some 50% shade cloth over them early and late in the year to extend my growing seasons. Hope this helps other people considering this.

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17 Dec 16, Agnes Lynn (Australia - temperate climate)

OOPs. i bought the seedlings from Masters and planted them. I dont think i will get any but i will keep watering.

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20 Mar 17, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)

Cauli is a winter crop - try planting now, March. I don't plant anything from August to Feb over summer - too hot (lots of watering and chance of lots of rain and wind). My soil is generally too rich and I just grow a big plant with no cauli head developing. I gave up trying to grow caulies 20 yrs ago. I fallow my ground during summer adding plant residue and grass clippings and turning it over a few times. Have pretty good soil when I plant in Feb/March. Plants just boom. Last year I had Savoy cabbage with leaves the size of a tennis racket in July/August - no head developed - other cabbage did head up though.

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20 Dec 16, John (Australia - temperate climate)

Cauliflower is the same species as cabbage. If your plants don't form heads you can use the leaves in coleslaw, soup or stir fries. Unless you need the space for something else let them keep growing.

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16 Jul 16, Rob (Australia - temperate climate)

Does anyone use neem oil for cabbage moth and grub? Do you have success? I just mixed 5ml of neem (80%) to 1ltr of water plus a squirt of detergent and sprayed my kale, cabbage and cauliflower seedlings. I'll see how it goes.... Do you think it will keep the green grubs off? My veggie patch is in Albion Park NSW 2527. What else is neem oil good for in the garden? Thanks, Rob.

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04 Mar 18, Scott (Australia - temperate climate)

Neem oil is fine. You can mix some pyrethrum with it too for instant results.

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21 Jul 16, Leigh (Australia - temperate climate)

Hi Rob! I'm interested in the answer also, and I'm just up the road in Dapto :D I use neem oil to spray our lemon tree.

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09 Jun 16, Margaret Thomas (Australia - temperate climate)

I grow cauliflower from plants & they take forever to form a head. The outside leaves are big green & healthy.Does it help if i tie the leaves together before a head forms?

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17 Feb 17, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)

It might be a sign of high nitrogen content in your garden bed. That would explain large leaves and little main head growth. I had the same issue and started feeding with compost tea using a sprayer , had very good results after the change.

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