Questions of the month

White butterfly decoy
20/04/2018

One of our members, Pam, recently asked us 2 questions:

  1. How do you know when rockmelons are ready to pick ?
  2. How to rid my vegie patch from white moths that are eating the leaves?

At our Information Evening earlier this week, we submitted these questions to the audience and this is what our members said.

When are Rockmelons ripe ?

You can pick them when:

  • They smell sweet.
  • There’s some movement inside when you shake them.

How to keep Cabbage White Moths away ?

  • Netting
  • Plant landcress near your brassica. The white butterflies should be attracted by landcress and lay their eggs there. When the caterpillars hatch, they will eat the landcress leaves and die because landcress is toxic for these bugs (but not for us humans)
  • Hang a decoy near your plants. You can cut it out of a plastic milk bottle and hang it with a piece of string.

Do you have questions too ?

If you want to ask us anything about permaculture or sustainable living, please contact us. We’ll try to answer at one of our Information Evenings.