The Netting That Finally Let Me Grow Brassicas Without Losing Them to Pigeons

13 juin 2026

Garden Netting 20x25ft fine mesh insect and bird barrier showing the 0.8mm-1mm UV-resistant PE mesh that blocks birds and insects while maintaining airflow and light transmission for vegetable gardens

I have been growing vegetables on my allotment for twelve years. In that time I have grown reasonable crops of most things: courgettes, beans, tomatoes, onions, potatoes. The one category I have consistently struggled with is brassicas. Cabbages, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts. Every year I plant them, every year the pigeons find them within about a week, and every year I spend the rest of the season watching the plants get progressively more stripped while I try various deterrents that work for a few days and then stop working.

My name is Alan Prescott. I am a sixty-one-year-old retired postman from Staffordshire, and the brassica problem had been a source of genuine frustration for most of those twelve years. I had tried netting before, but the netting I had used was either too coarse to stop the cabbage white butterflies from laying eggs on the leaves, or too flimsy to withstand a determined pigeon, or both. I had concluded that brassicas on an allotment without a proper fruit cage were simply going to be a partial crop at best.

The Season That Changed My Approach

Last spring I planted twelve cabbage plants, eight broccoli, and six kale. By the end of May, the pigeons had stripped four of the cabbages to the stalk and the cabbage white caterpillars had found the rest. I stood at the allotment on a Saturday morning looking at the damage and decided I was going to solve this properly rather than manage it inadequately for another year.

Garden Netting 20x25ft fine mesh shown installed over a vegetable bed demonstrating how the lightweight PE mesh creates a complete barrier over brassicas and other crops while allowing light and water through

I needed netting that was fine enough to stop cabbage white butterflies from getting through to lay eggs, which meant a mesh of 0.8mm or smaller, and strong enough to deter pigeons, which meant something with more substance than the lightweight netting I had been using. I found the 20x25ft Fine Mesh Garden Netting at ALTOE. The spec was exactly right: 0.8mm-1mm mesh, which is fine enough to block small insects including cabbage white butterflies, UV-resistant PE material built to withstand multiple growing seasons, flexible and cut-to-size design that could be trimmed to fit my brassica bed, and a 20x25ft size that was large enough to cover the whole bed with enough excess to tuck under the edges properly.

At £66.42 it was a more serious investment than the cheap netting I had been using, but the cheap netting had been failing me for years. I ordered it on a Sunday. It arrived Tuesday.

Installation

I installed it the following Saturday. The netting was easy to handle, lightweight and flexible, and the 20x25ft size gave me enough material to drape over the hoops I had put in place and tuck under the edges of the bed with a good margin. The fine mesh was immediately apparent: you could see through it clearly but the holes were small enough that nothing larger than a very small insect was getting through.

Garden Netting 20x25ft fine mesh shown close-up demonstrating the 0.8mm-1mm mesh size that blocks cabbage white butterflies and small insects while the UV-resistant PE material maintains durability across growing seasons

I replanted the stripped cabbages with new seedlings and covered the whole bed. The pigeons came back within two days, as they always do, and sat on top of the netting looking confused. They could not get through. They tried for about a week and then stopped trying.

The Full Season

The netting stayed in place for the full growing season. The cabbages grew without pigeon damage. The broccoli grew without cabbage white caterpillars. The kale, which I had never successfully grown to full size before because it had always been stripped before it got there, grew to full size. I harvested all twelve cabbages, all eight broccoli, and all six kale plants.

Garden Netting 20x25ft fine mesh shown covering a full vegetable bed demonstrating the generous size that provides complete coverage with enough excess to tuck under bed edges for a secure pest-proof barrier

In twelve years of growing brassicas, I had never harvested a full crop. The netting was the difference.

The UV-resistant PE material held up well through the season, including some heavy rain and a period of strong wind in August that I had been concerned about. The netting did not tear or degrade. I removed it at the end of the season, cleaned it, and stored it for next year.

Garden Netting 20x25ft fine mesh shown being used to protect fruit and flowers as well as vegetables demonstrating the versatility of the fine mesh barrier for multiple garden applications beyond brassica protection

Three allotment neighbours asked about the netting during the season after seeing my brassica bed. Two of them had the same pigeon problem I had. Both have ordered the same netting for this season. One of them, who had given up on brassicas entirely after several years of losses, is planting them again for the first time in three years.

Garden Netting 20x25ft fine mesh shown stored and folded demonstrating the lightweight flexible PE material that is easy to handle install and store between growing seasons for reuse year after year

The Verdict

If you grow brassicas and you have been losing them to pigeons or cabbage white butterflies, the solution is fine mesh netting with a hole size of 0.8mm or smaller. The 20x25ft Garden Netting is the right choice: the mesh is fine enough to stop insects, the PE material is durable enough to last multiple seasons, the size is generous enough to cover a full bed properly, and the cut-to-size flexibility means it works for any configuration. I harvested my first full brassica crop in twelve years. That is the result.

Find the Garden Netting – 20x25ft Fine Mesh Insect & Bird Barrier at ALTOE. Listed in Home & Garden, Lawn & Garden, Gardening, Plant Cages & Supports, Plant Supports, and Plant Netting & Mesh.

Cover the bed. Tuck the edges. Harvest the brassicas.

— Alan Prescott, Staffordshire