And another (pretty sure). These guys are SOOOOOO well color matched its hard to see them! They absolutely destroyed my kohlrabi 😞. I have no money for chemicals so I have spent hours picking these buggers off and smashing eggs. Its amazing how you can look directly AT one and not even see it. I could look at the same leaf multiple times each picking them off session and still find another one! So annoying.
Micacatokini
Maybe crickets are eating your brassicas.
Davekinney0u812
I gave up on brassicas years ago but gave it a try this year and decided to use insect netting and BT for when those pretty little white moths sneak through. I grew a spring as well as a fall planting and pretty happy with the harvests. I also have a 4×8′ raised bed and built a retractable/hinged PVC hoop house.
I literally spend 30 minutes a day asking off aphids and collecting caterpillars. These sneaky green ones and the gray with yellow stripes. I think they’re called army worms?
I find at least 2-3 day.
Not gonna lie. I feel bad for them. I have been putting them on my bolted radish.
HighColdDesert
The “cabbage worms” are the caterpillars of the Cabbage White Butterfly. It’s not a moth, it’s a butterfly. Anyway, the only way to prevent them is to cover the plants with something that lets enough sun in, but doesn’t let the butterflies reach the plants to lay eggs on them.
They can live on any brassicas, especially the common cabbage species like broccoli and kale, but also on the wider brassica family like radishes, nasturtiums and rocket/arugula.
There’s 2 that I see right in the middle of the plant in picture 2 I haven’t looked close enough at picture 3 yet. The Cabbage White Butterfly, although I’ve never seen one up close, is really pretty..
13 Comments
Infamous cabbage worm
Yeah cabbage worms are the worst. I spray BT and hand pick off
I’m giving up after 2 years in a row of this bs
Nothing makes me smile more than seeing a cabbage butterfly bounce off my insect netting repeatedly.
https://preview.redd.it/4xcsod4x5ctf1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c2c3ee351820fc69409b845a1891eeef7cd54502
On the left of your plant you can see the cabbage worm. They’re the worst! My farm uses BT, pretty effective!
https://preview.redd.it/cqxf2p308ctf1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=d924e96d9bce78a3d5495334135889655ac1f526
And another (pretty sure). These guys are SOOOOOO well color matched its hard to see them! They absolutely destroyed my kohlrabi 😞. I have no money for chemicals so I have spent hours picking these buggers off and smashing eggs. Its amazing how you can look directly AT one and not even see it. I could look at the same leaf multiple times each picking them off session and still find another one! So annoying.
Maybe crickets are eating your brassicas.
I gave up on brassicas years ago but gave it a try this year and decided to use insect netting and BT for when those pretty little white moths sneak through. I grew a spring as well as a fall planting and pretty happy with the harvests. I also have a 4×8′ raised bed and built a retractable/hinged PVC hoop house.
https://preview.redd.it/d3ulim16ectf1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=32a83916ab90ab4b17c4bf298561ad96bce51dc6
I literally spend 30 minutes a day asking off aphids and collecting caterpillars. These sneaky green ones and the gray with yellow stripes. I think they’re called army worms?
I find at least 2-3 day.
Not gonna lie. I feel bad for them. I have been putting them on my bolted radish.
The “cabbage worms” are the caterpillars of the Cabbage White Butterfly. It’s not a moth, it’s a butterfly. Anyway, the only way to prevent them is to cover the plants with something that lets enough sun in, but doesn’t let the butterflies reach the plants to lay eggs on them.
They can live on any brassicas, especially the common cabbage species like broccoli and kale, but also on the wider brassica family like radishes, nasturtiums and rocket/arugula.
https://preview.redd.it/ao8dkdugmctf1.jpeg?width=2245&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c12bae3d5114281be96d56a4f2e7e717d2e9286a
There’s the bugger.
https://preview.redd.it/jjv9cmg3pctf1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37025252c85a6ea7e5b8f7cef6e160a5391ea277
There’s 2 that I see right in the middle of the plant in picture 2 I haven’t looked close enough at picture 3 yet. The Cabbage White Butterfly, although I’ve never seen one up close, is really pretty..