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green worms on broccolli

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by dan@modernblacksmith on February 05, 2006 11:56 PM
those little green caterpillers all through my broccolli are so gross! how do you deal with them?

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http://www.modernblacksmith.com
by Buglady on February 06, 2006 12:03 AM
either pick them off or use a Bt aka Dipel aka thuricide (beneficial bacteria) to control them.

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The Buglady
Suzanne Wainwright-Evans, www.bugladyconsulting.com
Educating the world... one bug at a time
by weezie13 on February 06, 2006 12:04 AM
Suzanne,
Are they considered "Cabbage Looper's" that
Dan's talking about???

Very curious??

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/
by john dahn on February 23, 2006 06:34 PM
quote:
Originally posted by dan@modernblacksmith:
those little green caterpillers all through my broccolli are so gross! how do you deal with them?
Just use some netting. Build a frame over your broccolli and cover it with anti bird netting. Stop the butterflies getting at your broccolli in the first place that way they cannot lay any eggs, hence no caterpillers. Works a treat. I've been doing this for years. No need for nasty sprays or anything and you get completely undamaged bug free brassicas.

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JD
by Greenthumb newbee on March 08, 2006 04:14 PM
This will work but some people will not like to do this. Last year I went into my garage and picked all the spider egg sacks I could find. I put them in my garden and in no time I had ALOT of spiders in there. Great thing was ANY bugs that tried to eat the plants got eaten by the spiders so no problems with apids,worms,bugs.

The spiders did`nt usually bother the bees so I was well. Who says you have to use poisons to control the pests. With SOOOOOO many spiders I did get a few frogs though but no biggee.
by peppereater on March 08, 2006 11:12 PM
All good ideas. Yes, Weezie, most likely they're cabbage loopers. Larva of the cabbage white butterfly. The Bt, thuricide, that buglady mentioned is not a traditional "poison." It's a bacteria, and only affects caterpillars...very safe to use...usually found at any garden center.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by weezie13 on March 09, 2006 12:02 AM
I have gotttttt to take a closer look..
I was just researching them, and I know I have the butterfly part, I've got pictures of them all acrossed the radish's I let go to flower... and
I saw no green worm.. *and the pictures I see,
which are magnified of course, the greeen worms have hairs on them.*

The one's I see, devouring my columbines,
do not appear to be hairy... but I will have to look closer I guess..

It's a shame, those butterflies were alot of fun..
I loved watching them, they'd flit up and down, and go crazy over those flowers.. and there were several pairs too, and they'd play together...
Hmmmmmmmmmphhhhhhhhh!!!

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/
by peppereater on March 09, 2006 12:55 AM
Weezie...I always let a few things go to the worms...I like to have all the butterflies I can!

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by weezie13 on March 09, 2006 01:00 AM
You know the funny thing is, I didn't know what those butterflies were, and didn't mind them at all, like I said, they were pretty and so full of life and fun..

But, if it's them, *which I'm still debating now
after looking at the hairy catapillars, mine are glossy smooth* as to what's eating *or stripping*
my Columbines clean... *not the flowers, just the leaves...*

And I have several colors of columbines, and I just don't want to have them all gone...
because they really only produce one set of good flowers before the greenworms get them...

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/
by peppereater on March 09, 2006 01:19 AM
I'm guesssing those could be skippers. There are tons of different skippers...they'rs smallish, and sort of angular shaped, and flap their wings very rapidly.
Can you pick off all but a few? or do you have too many columbines?

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by weezie13 on March 09, 2006 01:35 AM
quote:
Can you pick off all but a few? or do you have too many columbines?


This is only one area where one color is....

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I've got to have at least, 11 other sections, of other colors, that they get on to too...

I'd be like this [perplexed] [Eek!] at the end of the day, when I try to pick them all off...

I don't have any problem of them flowering and re~seeding, that is for sure.. but the plant just looks so bad and I feel so bad for it too...
(Leaf minors' get after the leaves first too,
so the one's that the leaf minor don't chew, the greenworm does... [Mad] )
*I literally do do it too..*

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/
by peppereater on March 09, 2006 02:34 AM
Weezie, this could be the culprit...it lives in your area, and eats wild(?) columbine. I don't know why they specified wild...I thought a columbine was a columbine, just different colors.

http://images.google.com/images?q=columbine+duskywing&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by weezie13 on March 09, 2006 06:45 AM
Ohhhhhhhhhh, sure, I'd have to see this at dinner time...
Thanks Dave..
I'll get to it after supper, I dyin' to see..
I did skip read very quickly, but I didn't see any pictures of the green culprit...
*all butterflies*

I will be back to this one...

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/
by Amigatec on March 09, 2006 09:05 AM
Those little worms aren't to bad.

I was eating some of my broccoli 2 years ago, I was eating it raw with a little Ranch dressing, and it was after my second or third piece I noticed the worms.

I stopped and went into the kitchen and washed the rest of it REAL good. I didn't tell my wife about it.

She had already finished her pieces.

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.
by weezie13 on March 09, 2006 09:06 AM
[Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [shocked]

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/
by Amigatec on March 09, 2006 09:12 AM
The worms I had were green, the same color as the broccoli.

They are hard to see, so any more I wash it really good, and cut the heads up real good so I can see in to it.

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.
by weezie13 on March 09, 2006 09:23 AM
Yep, the one's on my Columbines' blend right in.
you don't even know they are there really,
until half the plant is gone.. like one day it's there, the next day they are gone..

And my mom gets those ornamental cabbages and they get them too... and those look like mine,
only maybe a bit bigger, but hey, the leaves on the cabbage is bigger...so, makes 'em grow more,
I guess... [Wink]

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/
by peppereater on March 09, 2006 11:56 PM
Just read your post, Pat. Sounds like you got your protein! [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin]

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by Amigatec on March 10, 2006 06:36 AM
Hey with enough Ranch Dressing anything taste good!!!

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.
by weezie13 on March 10, 2006 06:40 AM
[Big Grin] [Big Grin]

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

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