Home
>
Garden Lovers Forum
>
Topic
Foodlovers Foodtalk Forum
insect mesh
Posted by karena
insect mesh October 31, 2017 10:59AM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 689 |
Is anyone else using insect mesh (a very fine cloth) to protect plants from insect pests? I'm experimenting this year after having my tomato crop ruined a couple of years ago by green shield bugs. I've put a 'cloche' of plasticised chicken wire over a couple of dwarf tomato plants, and covered it with insect mesh, held in place by clothes pegs. Apparently this mesh is very effective against psyllids on potatoes and other crops, so I'll wait and see! (I may have to pollinate the flowers by hand to get any fruit - the only drawback)
Re: insect mesh November 01, 2017 12:46AM |
Registered: 16 years ago Posts: 1,979 |
I haven't tried it, but was intending on doing so two summers ago, then we sold our house. I had awful psyllid infestations which destroyed my tomatoes, and fine mesh seemed to be the only chance at control. So far, knock wood, we haven't had psyllids at this house.
I'll be very interested to hear of your experience. Hand pollinating tomatoes isn't too much of a pain unless you've got lots of plants. A neighbour of mine used to use the back side of an old electric toothbrush and would just hold it up to the stems.. the vibration was enough to shake the pollen loose - you could see it falling out of the flowers. Much easier than the paintbrush I've used for stubborn courgettes.
I'll be very interested to hear of your experience. Hand pollinating tomatoes isn't too much of a pain unless you've got lots of plants. A neighbour of mine used to use the back side of an old electric toothbrush and would just hold it up to the stems.. the vibration was enough to shake the pollen loose - you could see it falling out of the flowers. Much easier than the paintbrush I've used for stubborn courgettes.
Re: insect mesh February 03, 2018 09:22AM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 689 |
My experiment was not a success - though the mesh did stop the green shield bugs from attacking the tomatoes. But unfortunately they outgrew the mesh-covered hoops, and I had to leave them uncovered while I worked on getting a frame installed above the raised bed, and making a hanging mesh cover to suspend from it. While they were uncovered, they were attacked by looper caterpillars, which turned most of the leaves to lacework, and then ate half of the tomatoes! But next season I'll try again with the hanging mesh cover...
Re: insect mesh May 08, 2018 01:34AM |
Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 3,170 |
Karena I just watched Rural Delivery on TV1 where they showed potatoes being grown under mesh and they talked about research they had done. I was extremely interested in the insect control it provided. The only thing that concerns me, and I am not an extreme greeny, is where is all the old mesh cloth going to go.
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.