Napa cabbage

[littleminnie]

I am having a great year for the most part but one disturbing, disappointing thing is my Napa are bolting just awful without giving me a single head! I have been growing it for years and sometimes have a problem but not down the entire bed. I had Soloist and Rubicon. I thought Soloist was being naughty and bolting early but it seems Rubicon is now too. Or maybe Rubicon is because the other was. I sometimes think things bolt because their neighbor does. I am pulling them out left and right. Today I saw the two most promising heads were bolted.

[steev]

Do they make anything you could eat as "broccoli", just so it's not a total loss?

[littleminnie]

I don't think so because they get so bitter. Last year even the unbolted ones were bitter.

[raymondo]

I've been growing one called Bekana (or Tokyo Bekana) which doesn't head. It's a great winter green.

[littleminnie]

Well now it gets worse. I pulled out all the middle Napas today as they have bolted and on the one end they looked awful so I pulled one and it was covered in aphids. The other end of the bed is still a little promising. I think I will try the shade cover just there. I have an idea for a shade cover but little time right now. The rest of the bed is becoming bush beans.

Oh and then we had a storm yesterday which blew things around and some of my fishing line deer barrier was down and deer damage, tracks and poop everywhere. They ate the baby cabbage heads. At first I thought they split but when I looked closer they have been eaten. The deer made themselves quite comfortable and ate all sorts of things. I repaired the line and put up all the rest I had in new places. I wish I could get little bells to hang from it.

[steev]

I wonder whether this is a dumb idea: to hang bottles so the wind makes them moan as a deer discouragement. Deer do seem to be very alert to sound. Obviously wouldn't work if there isn't enough breeze, but might it work? Perhaps if the bottles were occasionally moved, so as to not become routine?

[littleminnie]

Maybe bottles with rocks in them. The wind seems to die down at dawn and dusk when they hit.

[littleminnie]

What about putting fishing line like they are getting used to, around a jar with rocks on a bucket? So when they push on the line the jar falls and makes noise (possibly breaks). Now to figure out where they come in. They have left some droppings on my lettuce but mostly they just nibble the tops of peas.

Ok back to napa. I suspect the first Napas bolted from bad transplanting. I think I started them too early in 6 packs instead of 4 packs and when transplanted they were angry. I know they are sensitive to that and have read they will bolt from it.
The younger ones planted later, on the end of the bed are not bolting.

I want to try a shade cloth experiment there and throw in some lettuce seedlings I don't know what to do with. The rest of the bed can get the bush beans I intended to put there.

[littleminnie]

Other booby trap ideas?

[12540dumont]

Minnie,
Ottawa sent me some Chinese Cabbage that did really well here in the early season. I cut it twice for baskets and then let it go to flower. I cut the seed stalks and they're drying down. PM your address if you want seeds. I should have tons.

Deer are very clever. My girlfriend stacked pallets like upside down "v's".

She got the pallets free, and the deer just couldn't figure it out. We put up Premier Electric Fence for deer. The first year, we only put it around the crop they were eating. We rarely have them, but when the weather turns hot like this...the grass and water dry up and they come out of the hills.

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[littleminnie]

Yes those sound interesting . What is the variety name?