[northfifeduckling]

I'm about to give up on Brassicas. Bl..... caterpillars everywhere, I'm getting murderous thoughts 
I've had everything covered, checked and cleared (duck food) regularly and every day the same tragedy. My brokkoli was completely decimated and even under cloches I find evidence. Is it worth persisting Have other people experienced the same pest like invasion, thousands more than in previous years?   

[doganjo]

Me too - every day I have gone out and picked off at last a couple of dozen green and black and plain green caterpillars.  Don't know what butterfly laid 'em - don't care. They get thrown on the driveway and run over, My ducks and chickens won't eat 'em!
My Brussels sprouts just have bare stalks so i doubt if any of them will grow big enough to eat - just teeny buttons just now.  I have four smallish cabbages with their outer leaves eaten so I hope the insides are OK!  The cauliflowers all went to seed because the leaves had all been eaten and now something too small for me to pick off but must be caterpillars have started on my blackcurrants!  My first attempt to grow veg on my own hs been a disaster except fro radishes, lollo rosso and carrots.  I'm told I can't grow carrots next eayr as teh carrot fly will now know where I am!

Incidentally - any garden designers out there?  My plain grass acre looks and feels tiny compared to others (Rosemary, Lu) and I wonder if it's because thereis is divided up into 'rooms'  Will it look bigger if I split it up and put in gravel paths, borders etc?

[hexhammeasure]

Splitting your lawn will make it look 'busier' so it seems bigger as there is more to it, adding a little hieght also helps  and creating a lawn which is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom will also visually increase size

as for caterpillars our brussels are fine as we plant them under the rows of chrysanthemums which 'hide' them although our nasturtiums ( edible seeds, flowers and leaves) are being decimated

[doganjo]

Splitting your lawn will make it look 'busier' so it seems bigger as there is more to it, adding a little hieght also helps  and creating a lawn which is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom will also visually increase size

as for caterpillars our brussels are fine as we plant them under the rows of chrysanthemums which 'hide' them although our nasturtiums ( edible seeds, flowers and leaves) are being decimated

Are you a garden designer?  I downloaded a couple of free programmes but they are too fiddly to be bothered with. I have been taking a note of which flowers I'd like to have next year in the gardens round here.  I have planted a few gladioli, so have some in the house in a vase.  Basically I have half an acre at the front with a narrow overgrown border down one side, a one foot high brick wall at the other, and a bank and stream beyond that with trees and shrubs at the other side and along the top - on a steep but lengthwise graduated slope. Have attached some photos

[Wellieboots]

1. Cabbage whites are too decimating me brussels - next year it's the enviromesh for me. Having taken off the existing netting the birds do seem to like the free grub, so there is hope yet.

2. Garden designers - heck if this isn't a modern day bit of "ahem" then I don't know what is. Spend the money on growing food, the luxury of a "designer garden" is a bit like wanting a private license plate because there is nothing left to "personalise".

You can make it your own with thought, planning and a lot of graft. Why in the western world do we need this aspect of grow your own to be in cahoots with "must look nice as well?"

Rant over, bottom line is design things yourself = individuality = contentment

[doganjo]

1. Cabbage whites are too decimating me brussels - next year it's the enviromesh for me. Having taken off the existing netting the birds do seem to like the free grub, so there is hope yet.

2. Garden designers - heck if this isn't a modern day bit of "ahem" then I don't know what is. Spend the money on growing food, the luxury of a "designer garden" is a bit like wanting a private license plate because there is nothing left to "personalise".

You can make it your own with thought, planning and a lot of graft. Why in the western world do we need this aspect of grow your own to be in cahoots with "must look nice as well?"

Rant over, bottom line is design things yourself = individuality = contentment

I am 65 with osteoporosis - I cannot do the work myself, my late husband designed our last gardens without my input as I was working full tim.  I need advice not negativity.  IYDMMSS

[little blue]

as for caterpillars our brussels are fine as we plant them under the rows of chrysanthemums which 'hide' them although our nasturtiums ( edible seeds, flowers and leaves) are being decimated

Don't plant nasturtiums near your brassicas, cos they are the same 'family' and will harbour cabbage white eggs and caterpillars.
The green ones are cabbage white, and the stripey ones are large cabbage white (or is it the other way round?!)

[Wellieboots]

Doganjo - you obviously have far too much sensitivity as my post was as much a +ve response as it was deriding the use of "garden designers".

Personally the "can't do" attitude is as much as western negative response as is the inability to take on board another persons opinion IFDMMSS (god how I hate the stupidity of text style abbreviations).

[little blue]

I am 65 with osteoporosis - I cannot do the work myself, my late husband designed our last gardens without my input as I was working full tim.  I need advice not negativity.  IYDMMSS

Annie, why not ask a local college if they do design or horticultur courses - you may get some help  with the hard graft. Or nearby school.
What flowers / colours do you like, and what other spec do you have (Room for dogs? Raised or sunken beds? formal or cottage?)  If you share your prefs, I'm sure us helpful smallhholders and cultivators can help!!

[doganjo]

Hmmm, funny - I've just been told on another forum I'm too sensitive.  And I thought I was just enthusiastic, with strength of feeling and high principles.    Maybe it's the weather 

Thanks, little blue.  I have dogs which need access to both front and back gardens - to let them run off steam rather than to do their business (they are Brittanys - very fast hunting inquisitive gundogs)  I have ducks and chickens which have their own pen but need to get out every day to roam.  Therefore fairly high raised beds would be needed for veg and low growing fruit.(also because I can't bend or kneel easily)  Trees are fine and I have planted some apples, pears and plums. Because of so much grass I have a ride on mower.  It gets cut every ten days or so depending on the weather, but I don't like just plain old grass, and if there were paths and nooks and crannies the dogs (and me)would enjoy it more anyway.  I would like flowers to cut for the house (and to barter with) Chrysanths, Sweet William, gladioli etc - colourful stuff.  I have loads of shrubs and trees on a steep bank at the lane end of the front garden, it had weed suppressant fabric and bark which have all slipped down into a pile at the foot. 

Having re-read that and thought about it, I think I need to find some money to GSI (oops sorry wellieboots - get someone in, as opposed to DIY - do it yourself)  Apologies for the acronyms -IYDMMSS = if you don't mind me saying so.  I invented it for fun

[hexhammeasure]

Sorry to disappoint you Doganjo, but no I'm not a garden designer. I'm head gardner/shepherd/woodsman/odd-job man for an old victorian grange. so I use all these tid-bits of knowledge all the time.

As for my nasturtiums they are nowhere near my brassicas as they are in the herb patch beside the butlers pantry.

You shouldn't have any problem doing things with your garden because judging by the pics you have an east/west running garden open to the south - something many gardeners would kill for

[northfifeduckling]

I've got both varieties of caterpillars, of course! The wild birds didn't show any interest in them at all, my ducks eat them (sort of), they definitely eat the flying kind if they can catch them - I love watching them hop for the beasties at dusk 
Not a single caterpillar on the Nasturtiums though, which are in a container (best I've ever had!), weird 

[little blue]

Doganjo, you've got my mind racing now!
Theres loads of possibilities for your garden, esp since theres plenty of room!
Dont rush into hiring a designer, it'll cost a fortune which is better spent on plants or 'scaping.
Plan your budget and time scale carefully (I speak from experience!!) and good luck!
If I can work out how (or borrow a scanner and printer) I'll share some ideas with you soon.. (If you want)
TTFN

[doganjo]

Ta, 'Lil blu'
Do you want sizes?  It's an acre plot with the bungalow slightly off middle length across the full width.

[little blue]

Blimey, I dont profess to be any kind of designer!
But I do know plants, and awkward spaces! So I'll have a think...
How do you and the dogs feel about a 'maze' with bark or gravel paths, and local shrubs/trees, or fruit. It'll cut down the grass. And give them lost of twists and turns to race round and track.

It's actully quite simple to draw up your own plans. Start from a wall (house or boundary) and 'triangulate' the other edges from there. (use a compass and swing it both ways to make a crossover point at the correct distance - once you've worked out your scale)
Work out your permenent features (trees, manholes, pond etc) and add them after measuring distances.

Hang on, I'm being 'helped' by  a German Shepherd.. I'll come back to this, cos Im sick of retyping where She's sat on the keyboard!