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Vegetable Gardening

cabbage pests

16 years ago

early on i had some problems with flea beetles eating my cabbage leaves. i am not sure if this is a common pest to cabbage, but they came over from my nearby eggplants. they destroyed the inside where the cabbage curls up. i took care of the bugs and have not had any since, but my question is... is that cabbage no good now? i mean the inside is all chewed up and yellow, this happened several weeks ago, so there are some nice healthy leaves growing and curling up now, but I can still see the chewed up ones. (not very appetizing if you ask me). can i still eat this cabbage? should i just throw it into the compost? maybe i should have torn out the chewed up leaves.... hmmmm... if this is what i should have done, is it too late now? any suggestions. thanks a bunch. sarahlynn

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Comments (3)

Violet_Z6
16 years ago
Pest management is complex, if you want to learn, a good place to start is here:

Integrated Pest Management
This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist.

Education:
B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis
Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley

Appointment:
100% Cooperative Extension

Research Interests:
Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information.

Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture:

* IPM references and resources
* Preventing pest problems
* Natural common enemies
* Making less toxic pesticide choices
* Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects.

You can watch the programs now online:

Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free.

Integrated Pest Management Part 1 90 minutes

Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes

You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on:
Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons

I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals.

You can also read up on flea beetles and cabbage.

;)
robin_maine
16 years ago
As long as the head forms you can eat the cabbage. If it isn't going to form you toss the plants in the compost pile and use the space for something else. Good luck!
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I'll second everyone: cabbage worm poop. The paperwasp is your friend. Last year, I ended up very sick and stopped handpicking my broccoli, cole crops. When I finally made it out to the garden, I was overrun with cabbageworms. Dejected, I went back to the house (still sick) and decided to try handpicking again in a few days. Three days later, I couldn't find a single cabbageworm. The paperwasps had moved in and collected every one. This year, I have not had to hand pick at all. So far, the wasps have completely kept up with the cabbageworms. My kale remains beautiful and hole free. So, protect your wasps! Don't knock down their nests and don't use pesticides. I also wouldn't worry about them stinging you. I've been in the middle of them for two years and they've never, ever gotten nasty with me. There's an old saying that a farmer who knocks down his wasp nest will get no cabbage crop. Now I know why. Bellatrix
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hard to defeat the cabbage maggot, but if you look carefully for the distinctive pupa in the soil in that area, you might be able to eliminate a lot of'em - then if you plant cole crops again, put the collar around the plants that link explains - I don't think they'll affect leeks, at least I've never had a problem w/ leeks, and I grow lots of'em every year - also a floating row cover is helpful w/ that pesky white cabbage moth which is everywhere up here Bill
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Those aren't eggs- they're the frass (poop) from the caterpillars. Just rinse it away. Since cabbage doesn't need to be pollinated, you could cover it with a very lightweight material (think sheer) loosley, but tucked under the pot on anchored to the ground to protect it from further infestations. You'll have to be diligent at first about cking it to be sure you didn't miss any eggs or small fry. Good luck!
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Bacillus thuringiensis. From the web page I linked above: "There are several options when considering a low impact insecticide. Neem is a plant based insecticide and acts primarily as an anti-feedant. Although insects are not killed quickly, it causes them to stop feeding and they eventually die. Spinosad is derived from a naturally occurring soil-dwelling microorganism, provides excellent control, and does not harm natural enemies. Bacillius thuringiensis (Bt) is a bacterium that occurs naturally in the soil. Bt is specific to caterpillars and must be ingested in order to kill the insect which is different compared to residual products. Because of this, good spray coverage is essential." tj
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ruthieg__tx
16 years ago
I never have a problem sharing my greens with a few bugs as long as they don't chew too much and as long as they leave before I start eating...

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