Cabbageworms

What do I do about cabbageworms. I'm guessing that's what I have.

looks like it is cabbage worms. the green "stuff" at the bottom of the leaves looks like their poop ;/ Those white moths flying around your garden lay them. Hand picking is an organic way to do it, they usually are on the back of the leaf, and can be very tiny to huge. It's a pain to do, or of course there are pesticides... ;/

I have never seen them. When do they come out? Do I need to get out there early in the morning?

I normally see the white and yellow cabbage butterflies on warm sunny days. If the worms are there, they will burrow down into your heads, and trash your produce. I have used BT, an organic insecticide spray (brand name Thuricide) and a row cover to keep catepillars at bay. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis

Even after using these methods, I picked 5 heads yesterday, and still had one that was half trashed with holes and worm poo. I now have gallon of sauerkraut on top of the fridge.

I found cabbage worms on my brussel sprouts plant a couple days ago, also. I wasn't surprised, because I didn't put any cover over it when I put it in the box. I usually just go out every morning early and pick and squish. It's my daily therapy.

Squat_Johnson wrote:
Even after using these methods, I picked 5 heads yesterday, and still had one that was half trashed with holes and worm poo. I now have gallon of sauerkraut on top of the fridge.

I love sauerkraut!
As to the worms, last summer, it was a 2x a day ritual hunting for the and squishing the wee green worms. Sometimes I would miss one for a few days and they would get an inch or longer. When they get that big they are very hungry.
They are difficult to see and with practice a bit easier to spot. good luck

Today I went out and checked out my Brussels Sprouts and found a caterpillar thing drowned in the water in a leaf. Chances are he wasn't the only one, was he? I can't seem to find any of them living. I guess I'll have to get up earlier than 10 to go hunting.

Be sure to look under the leaves as well, those worms are wicked sneaky .

I really want to grow brussels sprouts next year. Does covering them early work?

It worked very well for me this year! The netting just came off and the plants are looking great!Now, that being said, I believe that the cabbage moth has 3- 5 life cycles during the growing season in my neck of the woods, so it really is a constant battle.

Mamachibi wrote:I really want to grow brussels sprouts next year. Does covering them early work?

I cover my brassicas and it works fine for me as long as the white butterfly cannot get onto a leaf to lay eggs. The bird problem I have is also solved by covering them when they are small and vulnerable.

An interesting idea from Fine Gardening magazine with an organic way to discourage cabbage looper worms:

"I have been using red-pepper powder for years on everything from cucumber beetles and spittlebugs to leafhoppers and cabbage loopers. Now there is scientific backing for this treatment: Entomologist Geoff Zehnder of Auburn University in Alabama credits McCormick red-pepper powder for protecting cabbages better than any standard chemical insecticide.
Mix 2 tablespoons of red-pepper powder and 6 drops of liquid soap in 1 gallon of water. Let the mixture sit overnight, and stir thoroughly. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle, shake well, and spray weekly on the tops and bottoms of the leaves. This will protect plants, especially members of the cabbage family (including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and brussels sprouts), from destructive insects."

The full post on home-made solutions to various garden pests and diseases is here:

http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/thirty-five-pest-disease-remedies.aspx?utm_source=email&utm_medium=eletter&utm_content=20110704-remedies&utm_campaign=fine-gardening

Nonna,

Would this work for the all the little babies already on the plant, or is this to prevent the eggs from being laid?

Denese, the article calls the pepper spray a repellant. I'd guess it interferes with the cabbage moth's ability to hone in on a prey plant, that is, brassica. Cabbages just don't smell spicey and certainly don't taste "hot." That whole article has some other clever deterrents: like rolling some sticky tape around your fingers, sticky side out, and picking up the aphids clustered on your rose buds; and the bit about putting your grapefruit and/or watermelon rinds out to attract slugs, which you then flip into a bucket of soapy water to drown (personally, being vindictive, I prefer a solution of sudsy ammonia and water to kill slugs more quickly--the ammonia solution then acts as a compost-activator. But that's must me....not for the squeemish. Nonna, who prefers her salads without slug slicks.