Cabbage White ...

[MKG]

Thes week, oi 'ave been watching mainly caterpillars.

Specifically, the dreaded Cabbage White. To protect my experimental tobacco bed, I planted a row of nasturtiums near to them as a sacrifice planting. The nasturtiums haven't been touched. Nor, thankfully, has the tobacco.

What HAS been got at is the very large horseradish which is growing in a container on the opposite side of the tobacco. They absolutely love it, and I'm not overbothered as horseradish will survive any attack short of a nuclear explosion.

Has anyone else noticed this? It could be very useful, unless it's a flash in the pan.

Mike

[Green Aura]

I've never seen what did it but my horseradish leaves have often been eaten. Made of stern stuff these CW grubs aren't they

[grahamhobbs]

Hadn't noticed that, I plant nasturiums to divert them but there is also lots of horseradish around our allotments and it is rare that our brassicas are attacked by the cabbage white, but I bring on my seedlings at work which is much more urban, hardly a blade of grass around, but this year my seedlings suffered attack after attack by catapillars. So perhaps I should have a pot of horseradish at work.

[Millymollymandy]

Are cabbage whites likely to eat tobacco which isn't a brassica?

I don't have any brassicas in veg patch yet so no problems for the moment, and can't see any caterpillars on my nasturtiums either.

[MKG]

I hadn't the foggiest if they did or not, MMM - but I was taking no chances. The butterflies certainly land on the tobacco and have a look around - those leaves are pretty big - but not a single egg has been deposited on it.

Mike