cabbage whitefly

[antonia macaroMember]

I protected my brassicas with bird and butterfly netting but didn’t know about cabbage whitefly, which is now all over the plants and leading to mould, on the leaves so far. It probably didn’t help that I planted too close together and that the plants grew huge as the bed had been mulched with a load of manure.

My questions are:

should I remove all the affected leaves? (There may not be many left if I do!)

I have already put quite a few of the mouldy leaves on the compost heap, was this a bad idea and if so should I try to take them out?

I’d be grateful for any advice, thank you!

[charlesModerator]

 Hi Antonia, I think these aphids are reminding you about spacing your plants too close, which stresses them a bit, creates a nice place for moulds too with all the leaves pressing against each other. I would thin plants to recommended spacings, as long season brassicas like space to flex their leaves. 

Don’t woryy about diseased leaves on your compost heap, they will convert to something good. There is almost no garden waste you cannot compost, even blighted leaves are fine.

[ashleighParticipant]

i have an infestation of these things in my plastic compost bin. i inherited this bin with my new site and i’ve continued to add to it. i put a lot of brussels sprout plants in the bin so i expect they like that. today in our first really warm weather there was a swarm of them on the plastic in the ‘shoulders’ of the bin.

as we are wanting to grow kale commercially on this site i’m quite horrified to see them. they are so tiny and difficult to catch in any way! are there any measures i can take to reduce them before kale season? google tells me to spray soap or garlic oil, i will try that but they are in among the compost so i will miss half of them whatever i do. should i burn the compost?

[tractorbeam154Participant]

Hi Ashleigh,

I have just discovered that I have the same problem with whitefly in the compost. Have you found a solution yet?

[charlesModerator]

I would keep the compost.
Pests thrive only when conditions suit them. It’s not the compost or kale per se, but their state and condition. Maybe your compost is soggy, or too dry. Hard to say.
Whatever, I would use it, and exposure to air + weather will improve the compost, reduce flies.
Add some extra compost so that all soil is well covered, then health of soil is going to improve, so your plants will grow more healthily and aphids have less reason to be there.
A few pests are always present, but I reckon your main problem will become manageable, through health of soil and plants.

[Author]

Posts