Protecting summer cabbage/broccoli/kale seedlings for fall

[applestar]

This year, I wanted to try growing ornamental cabbage and kale as well as some culinary varieties. But around here, the cabbage white butterflies and cabbage moths are active through summer and in fact, begins to egg dump as the fall approaches to try to lay as many offspring as they possibly can. In addition around mid-July to early August when the heat intensifies, the orange harlequin bugs arrive and they go straight for any left over mustard family in the garden.

So from summer until frost, radish, turnip, kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, rutabaga, kohlrabi, and most Asian greens -- you name it -- are skeletonized. I've tried growing purple varieties which are said to be less attractive to them, and if I can help get them past the spring cabbage aphids with good health, the most that can be said has been that they manage to *survive* where the all green ones might go down completely. Once the weather cools down and harlequins become somewhat slowed down, they resume growth and a few light frost will perk them right up.

But anything tiny like a seedling -- I found out -- has no chance at all.

So here is my new idea -- tah-DAH !!

Just started the seeds yesterday -- 5 days behind schedule.

image.jpg (48.84 KiB) Viewed 2770 times

I'll post updates

[Lindsaylew82]

I still think this is brilliant. How did you come up with a picnic table tent?

[Susan W]

Do give us full report! Before you had mentioned this, I was thinking small, as in those mesh things you put over a plate at a picnic to keep the flies off. I did come across a small one plate size, but haven't used it yet on the seed babies. It opens like an umbrella.

[applestar]

I've been looking at those in the past but I think this is better (saw it for the first time this year) because it's exactly like a miniature tent and has an attached/sealed solid nylon floor. I might secure the door flaps better (I wish they close with zippers but only utilize generously overlapping edges and one hook and close tab per door flap -- I could add more.

(BTW If my kids were younger, this would be great big dolls' tent. I would sneak it into their Christmas present )

[applestar]

The little seedlings have sprouted and some of them started growing true leaves.
I'm trying out a 6-tray compressed fibre seed flat and one of them with three kinds of ornamental kale was way overcrowded and needed to be separated, so here is the update.

...already crowded in here...

I ended up saving nearly all of the seedlings that were in one of the seed flats -- Red Peacock, Sunrise and Sunset.

I got lazy and just grabbed whatever small pots were available, this time, which leaves wasted space between pots, but I should be able to maximise the space better if I go back to using repurposed rice milk cartons.

Unfortunately, My perception of the dimensions was slightly off and the 2010 permatray would NOT fit perpendicular to the tent. I may need to find other closely fitting containers for these drip trays.

It also looks like this location is getting less sun now so I will probably need to move the table further out from the shadow of the pine trees.

[applestar]

Recent photo.

This is working well, but I did lose some seedlings to damping off when I didn't get around to emptying rain-flooded trays for 24 hrs.
...and I found ONE 1/2" cabbage moth or armyworm caterpillar that somehow got inside. It took out some of the seedlings and nibbled on true leaves, but there are still enough growing. (This would have been eggs/caterpillars on nearly every single seedling if they were out in the open.

I really need to move the table out from the current location which is getting too densely shaded due to the lowering sun angle. Now that the blackberries have finished, I think I'll move the table in front of them.

I refreshed the damped off seed flat (of those extra Sunsets) and sowed a fast maturing Japanese "spinach" and another variety call "giant" spinach even though spinach doesn't need this kind of protection. (Marked by the black spoon.) Well, it turned out that the Japanese "spinach" -- which sprouted WAY faster than I expected -- doesn't appear to be spinach but some kind of a mustard family plant, so it was just as well.

[imafan26]

You always come up with these great ideas. I just use another tray to cover the ones I need to protect from birds.

[applestar]

Bumping the thread to remind myself to do this again this year.

[applestar]

Trying this first this year. A seedbed directly in the ground, somewhat densely sown. I intend to prick them out and plant as they grow.

I believe this is the third day -- somethings have sprouted already