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Author Topic: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans  (Read 5495 times)

loopy

  • Joined Mar 2009
butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« on: April 06, 2009, 01:56:01 pm »
Hi

I have got a lot of raised beds and i need to protect them so that when they have things growing in them the chickens do not eat everything in sight!  In the garden i have a fruit cage which is covered in butterfly netting, and the chickens do not bother with this is the slgihtest....so i was thinking of using butterfly netting to protect the raised beds - to 1) keep the chickens out and ") to prevent the butterflies - as i suffered with catepillar damage last year - my biggest problem (garden has no slugs and few snails) BUT my concern is over the plants that will need pollinating....and i'm wondering whether the bees can get through the netting - or what if i left the tops of the beds uncovered (just on those who need pollinating) - would this be ok for pollination to happen?  ie run netting around the edges, to approx 2m height and then only cover the tops of things like root crops/brassicas?)

Also on a separate Q, i planted a lot of runner bean seeds at the weekend, 1 seed per 3 inch pot - but the sun has now disappeared - any tips on how to ensure high germination rates would be gratefully appreciated!

thanks L

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Clackmannanshire
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Re: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2009, 02:33:08 pm »
Cover them with cut down clear plastic lemonade bottle - increases sun/warmth intensity.
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

loopy

  • Joined Mar 2009
Re: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2009, 02:36:05 pm »
thanks - i've not got 99 lemonade bottles (whereas got 99 seeds in 99 pots - 33 white flowers, 33 salmon pink and 33 red ones) - but presuming that if i cover them with plastic propogator lids it would help?  or what about cling filming over the tops for a few days?

Greenerlife

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Leafy Surrey
Re: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« Reply #3 on: April 07, 2009, 11:06:36 am »
Surely your fruit caged plants need pollinating too?  I used to worry that the bumbles in my fruit cage couldn't get out but they seem to manage fine (1cm netting).  I am sure that bees don't have a problem getting through.  Good luck with the cabbage whites! (I've given up on brassicas because of the darn things!)

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
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Re: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2009, 11:38:07 am »
thanks - i've not got 99 lemonade bottles (whereas got 99 seeds in 99 pots - 33 white flowers, 33 salmon pink and 33 red ones) - but presuming that if i cover them with plastic propogator lids it would help?  or what about cling filming over the tops for a few days?

Yes, cling film should be good!
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

loopy

  • Joined Mar 2009
Re: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« Reply #5 on: April 14, 2009, 11:12:26 am »
thanks for the tips - very happy to say that the beans started to pop through the surface on Saturday - and now coming through like crazy - not sure if will get 100% success but the speed that they are appearing, it's looking like if it itsn't 100% then it'll still be a very high germination rate! 

my final bean question - i gather that i shouldn't plant these in the garden until mid-may? is that correct or should it be sooner or later?? and should i need to provide any sort of support/staking indoors until they get planted out next to the tall canes?

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2009, 08:59:21 am »
We've always planted our out whenever they get tall enough to need staking regardless of the time. Maybe we've been lucky but they've been fine so far.

We fleece our brassicas or they are caterpillar food. We net most other things to keep the chooks off - sometimes a temporary wire fence is enough.

loopy

  • Joined Mar 2009
Re: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« Reply #7 on: April 15, 2009, 11:12:32 am »
thanks Rosemary - whereabouts in the UK do you live? and approx when will you be planting out yours?

i've never grown beans from seed, but am amazed at how fast they are growing, they were sown on the 5th April, broke the surface over the Easter weekend, and some are now 5-6 inches in height!!   How tall would you let them get before staking them outside?  think that next year i will sow them slightly later given their rapid growth rate!!

dreamer

  • Joined Apr 2009
  • ilkeston derbyshire
Re: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2009, 01:10:39 pm »
Place sprigs of rosemary amongst your brassicas buterflys are supposed to dislike the smell, also used teabags with eucalyptus oil sprinkled on them placed around the garden deter cats and human hair spread round the borders or baked hard  crushed eggshells deter slugs.

VSS

  • Joined Jan 2009
  • Pen Llyn
    • Viable Self Sufficiency.co.uk
Re: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« Reply #9 on: April 16, 2009, 07:25:03 pm »
99 seedlings = one heck of a lot of runner beans!
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IainW

  • Joined Apr 2009
  • Brittany
    • Honest SEO & Internet Marketing Services
Re: butterfly netting....and also a Q re runner beans
« Reply #10 on: April 27, 2009, 05:46:05 pm »
I'm about to plant my runner beans straight into the ground as seeds rather than plants, is this OK?
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