What's eating my curly kale?

Curly kale is a brassica and one of the most pest-targeted garden crops. Cabbage white caterpillars, cabbage aphids, and whitefly are the main insect threats. Pigeons shred leaves in winter when other food is scarce. Slugs eat seedlings. Mealy cabbage aphid is the worst single threat, forming dense waxy colonies that resist washing.

Dense grey-white waxy colonies on leaf undersides and growing tips; leaves turn yellow and crinkled; severely stunts plants. Blast off with water jet; insecticidal soap or pyrethrin; crush colonies by hand while wearing gloves; squash overwintering eggs in autumn.

Large holes through leaves; green or yellow-striped caterpillars in groups; frass deposits on foliage. Check leaf undersides weekly for yellow egg clusters; hand-remove caterpillars; Bt spray; cover with insect-proof mesh from planting.

White insects on leaf undersides that persist over winter on kale; sooty mould on leaves; plants weakened over time. Insecticidal soap spray; pyrethrin; parasitic wasps (Encarsia); remove and compost old leaves to break the cycle.

Leaves stripped to bare midribs and stems, especially in winter; damage can be total and rapid. Netting with mesh no larger than 2 cm over the bed frame; taut strings as a deterrent for small areas.