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broccoli mom

7 Responses to “broccoli mom”

1. fern Says:
   July 5th, 2008 at 05:57 pm
   Look for the little green worms and pull them off; sometimes they're on the underside of the leaves.

2. Analise Says:
   July 5th, 2008 at 06:11 pm
   Your chard looks great, though. It's funny how some bugs like certain plants best... I guess broccoli is a favorite.

3. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
   July 5th, 2008 at 07:43 pm
   Don't I see the tiniest floral bud down in the center, too?!

4. baselle Says:
   July 5th, 2008 at 07:55 pm
   Yes, you do!
   Fern - I definitely check the undersides too. Miserable little sneaky green eating machines!

5. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
   July 6th, 2008 at 08:50 am
   Diatomaceous earth, "D.E.," is very good at mechanically stopping the green caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly. I dust it on by putting a bit into a fine kitchen sieve and shaking it over the plants. Decent garden shops will have it in stock....I had a problem on my cabbages earlier, and did not get around to using my DE. I think some little birdies took care of it for me.

6. baselle Says:
   July 6th, 2008 at 05:45 pm
   Joan - I'll have to remember that next year. Does the D.E. get incorporated into the plant & affect the taste of the cabbage (broccoli/cauliflower/etc)?

7. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
   July 7th, 2008 at 07:45 pm
   No. The pieces are too big to get into plants. It washes off in the rain or blows off in the wind. "Diatomaceous" refers to "diatoms," tiny little water critters that have a silica-based crystalline skeleton. After they die their skeletons remain and zillions of skeletons get deposited in great drifts. Over time those deposits compress into crumbly white rock. Diatomaceous earth is mined from land where there was formerly a shallow sea. It comes in bags about the size of a flour bag and looks quite a bit like flour too. Under the microscope you can see the beautiful crystalline skeltons. Swimming pool filters use DE, too.

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