Information and discussion regarding garden diseases, insects and other unwelcome critters.
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June 15, 2012 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut
Posts: 2,570
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i never saw this before!
one of my 9 cabbage plants showed signs of a cat eating the inner leaves that were forming a head. must be cabbage lopper cats and i forgot to get the bt when i saw it this am. so late in the afternoon when i was spreading leaves i went over and looked in the leaf curls. there was something dark so i stuck my thumb and index finger in, felt a really fat soft thing and pulled out a fat cat. but instead of it being green (cabbage lopper) it was brownish green - a big fat cut worm an inch long! normally they cut down young plants but this one was nestled in the forming head. this was quite a surprise, i have never seen a cut worm in a cabbage plant!
tom
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June 15, 2012 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: zone 6b, PA
Posts: 5,664
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Saw the exact same thing this year and couldn't believe it!
kath |
June 15, 2012 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 586
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It took me a reading halfway through the first post to realize that 'cat' was meaning 'caterpillar'. I was confused at the image of a cat eating cabbage and then bedding down in the remains of the plant...
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June 17, 2012 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: zone 6b, PA
Posts: 5,664
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Tom, I thought of you today when I found another cutworm eating a leaf of a tomato plant at a height of about 2'! I never saw this before either.
kath |
June 18, 2012 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b
Posts: 1,439
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Gross! I was planning on sowing fall cabbage and broccoli this weekend
Maybe I'll skip it now.
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barkeater |
June 18, 2012 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: zone 6b, PA
Posts: 5,664
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double post- sorry, see below
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June 18, 2012 | #7 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: zone 6b, PA
Posts: 5,664
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Quote:
kath |
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June 18, 2012 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: NW Wisconsin
Posts: 910
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Me too, and I wasn't sure if BT would work on a cat.
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Mike |
June 18, 2012 | #9 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut
Posts: 2,570
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Quote:
kath, a cut worm 2' up a plant? that is amazing! tom
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I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life |
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June 18, 2012 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b
Posts: 1,439
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Tom,
Even with bt I've had little green worms in my broccoli in the fall. Granted, it was broccoli planted in the spring that got huge and kept pumping out nice side shoots until October. i'm not as worried about the cabbage as it seems to be easier to get complete spray coverage. Kath, I'm not putting in transplants but am direct sowing my fall broccoli and cabbage plus carrots and brussel sprouts this weekend. We are supposed to reach 100 in some areas Wednesday and Thursday so I'm kind of glad I took the lazy way out planning for fall! We are already in drought conditions over by Lake Champlain, but the nice thing is the lawn stopped growing - so no mowing this week, but I am watering the veggies a lot.
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barkeater Last edited by barkeater; June 18, 2012 at 07:40 PM. |
June 18, 2012 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut
Posts: 2,570
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you could cover the top of each broccoli plant with floating row cover material. covering entire plants may be difficult as broccoli, at least all the varieties i have grown, get quite tall and wide using a lot of frc.
i made a pvc cage and cover it with bird netting to stop the finches from pecking my heads to death. the up side is that cabbage moths seldom can get thru the 3/8" netting grid so i seldom spray the broccoli any more. you could use netting if suspended above the plants, wrap with frc or spray BT and place the broccoli in water for 10 minutes, the cats will fall off. i like broccoli and would not stop growing it cause of this. tom
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I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life |
June 18, 2012 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b
Posts: 1,439
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tom,
I've been thinking about setting up something next year like you suggest. It is a pain soaking everything and still seeing so many worms floating up even after spraying bt! I've been looking at the low tunnel bender in the Johnny's Seed catalog then covering with the lightest weight row cover material. I only need maybe enough for 30-40 feet or so and it would extend the season a bit if I throw my frost covers over top, probably into November. That is also when the first deer are coming into the yard to get to the apple drops and anything they can grab that's still in the garden.
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barkeater |
June 18, 2012 | #13 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: zone 6b, PA
Posts: 5,664
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Quote:
kath |
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June 19, 2012 | #14 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut
Posts: 2,570
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Quote:
tom
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I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life |
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June 25, 2012 | #15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: northern NJ zone 6b
Posts: 1,862
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LOL it must be too early on a Monday for me. I read the post almost completely through before realizing it was not a CAT. I was so confused thinking I had no idea Cats eat Cabbage! Cutworms are so gross. eww.
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Antoniette |
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