Various veg problems

[Sueh]

Have cabbages, cauliflowers, Brussels and swede growing and at the moment I still have netting over them. They are quite large now and I really could do with taking the net off. Anyone know if the pidgeons and other birds will eat them now they are bigger?

My cauliflower leaves are quite full and about 12 inches high but there is no sign of any caulflowers growing yet just new small leaves. Is this normal? I have never grown them before.

About 5 weeks or more I planted lots of lovely healthy green runner beans as well as some yellow flat beans and some purple round beans. I have grown them evey year for 4 years now. Anyhow they are just not growing and all the leaves at the bottom look dead. The green are doing better but some are stroll only 15 inches high. The yellow and red stopped growing when they got to a metre. We are in the anglia region where it has been very dry but I have kept watering them until the recent rainy days. I did put them into newly dug earth where we had taken up our grass, but I have done this once before and they were fine. Is it the weather or the earth? They are all flowering now and they are not really high enough.

Finally courgettes and cucumbers, just not growing. They are again in the new earth but all the winter veg is doing fine.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Sue

[johnmichael]

Raise the netting,birds and butterflies will damage them caulis should form eventually.

[Sueh]

Thanks will keep the netting on

[vegetable-gardener]

The cauli won't come until later. I agree to leave the netting to stop the butterflies.. The plants will just push the netting up.

You other plants - are they to dry? Have you give them any fertilizer?
Are the courgettes and cucumbers warm enough - I put a shelter around mine until they took off. This really helps them.

Maybe its the soil - it might not have enough goodness in it so you have to feed the plants something.

Hope this helps.

[Sueh]

Thanks. I have been watering them well and given them some tomato feed twice. They may well not be warm enough as we have had so much wind of late. Do you suggest any particular fertiliser and how often?
Thanks v much
Sue

[vegetable-gardener]

I use chicken pellets - every month through the growing season - but I would really recommend putting some cover around them. We use old buckets with the bottom cut out, and a old plstic water tank we cut into 3 which the plants love.

[Sueh]

Hi everything is now growing really well. Runner beans started to grow higher and courgettes have lots of flowers and actual courgettes. I even have cauliflowers forming it's great. My Brussels that I thought were no good I planted and are really taking and quite tall. The only thing that is no good is the cucumbers and I think I have lost them.
Thanks for all help
Sue

[vegetable-gardener]

It always takes a little while for the veggies to get started.