Tag Archives: butterfly

Garden Battles: Cabbage Worm

cabbageworm butterfly on kale

cabbage worm butterfly on kale

I was harvesting my lettuce when a flash of white flitted by the kale. My heart stopped: it was the dreaded cabbage worm.

Last year, I spent an enormous amount of time fighting imported cabbage worm. The white butterflies, the adult form, are attracted to members of the cabbage family. In my garden, that means mustard and kale. The small, white butterflies lay yellow, bullet-shaped eggs under the leaves. Within a few weeks, the larva, the disgusting green worms, decimate leaves and stems. They then pupate and more adults emerge so within a growing season there are several generations. Surprisingly, they can continue all year long on my property in Northern Virginia.

cabbageworm butterfly near lettuce

cabbage worm butterfly on lettuce

At first, I tried picking the worms off but quickly concluded that: first, it’s gross; and second, it’s easier said than done. It is difficult to pick them up on a continuous basis because we are all busy.  It seems eggs are always hatching, larvae are always present from very tiny to very large, and the green color of the worm blends in with the green leaves.

I know the other recommendation is to use row covers but I live in a traditional suburban home and my kale and mustard plants are in pots on the deck or tucked in the landscape, not in rows. I do not have the type of vegetable garden where there are rows of one crop.

Finally, I resorted to Thuricide®, a liquid form of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), thinking that I would just have to spray once or twice. Bt is a bacteria that kills the larvae so it is a non-toxic, biological insecticide. However, it got to the point where I felt that all I was doing was spraying instead of growing and eating.

By the end of the year, I was fed up and vowed not to grow kale and mustard again. Then I thought what if I grew the colored mustards as a winter annual in a container? For sure the cabbage worms could not be active in the winter.

But yes, Virginia, they were very active in the winter and ate the mustard as if it were a summer delicacy. Do you have this problem in the garden and if so, what do you do to battle the cabbage worm?

Blessed with Native Aster ‘Lady in Black’

Lady in Black aster at Derwood, September 2014

Lady in Black aster at Derwood, September 2014

I love participating in giveaways for gardening items and plants. Recently, I won a flat of fifty asters from New Moon Nursery, a New Jersey-based, wholesale company that specializes in Eastern native plants. The gift was actually a flat of any plant they had in stock and I specifically asked for Aster lateriflorus ‘Lady in Black’. I first saw Lady in Black last fall at the Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood, Maryland. I was struck by mass of pretty small flowers and the colorful foliage. Also known as calico aster, this particular type of aster grows to 3 feet, has purple black leaves, and blooms small, daisy-like white and purple pink flowers in September and October. Drought tolerant when established, Lady in Black is a low maintenance, native plant known for attracting butterflies but not attracting rabbits and deer.

Fifty asters in flat, September 2015

Fifty asters in flat, September 2015

I was excited to get the asters but fifty plants! What was I going to do? I barely had the space for five let alone fifty! And even if I had the space, it was too hot and dry to plant in the ground, the small roots would shrivel up in no time.  These plants were in a 50-cell, deep plug tray which means that each plant was only about 2 inches in diameter with a 4-inch depth. Planting them in the ground now during the current drought and high temperatures would only kill them. Yet leaving them in the flat all winter long would also kill them. For now, I put the flat in a place in the garden that received morning sun and afternoon shade to reduce the heat and stress and watered every few days. Later in the month, when the heat diminishes, I will plant all fifty in my melon patch, which is a new bed in full sun, but vacant now as melon season has passed. The little asters will live in the melon patch over the winter in a holding pattern (alive but not growing) while their roots dig down for moisture and insulation. In May, I will transplant most of them into small plastic containers and plant the ones I want to keep elsewhere in my own garden. So friends and family, next year I will be sharing about 40 native aster plants, lovely perennials with beautiful fall flowers!

Garden Summer Battles: Imported Cabbageworm on Kale

cabbageworm butterfly on kale

cabbageworm butterfly on kale

cabbageworm butterfly near lettuce

cabbageworm butterfly on lettuce

I was harvesting my lettuce this morning when a flash of white flitted by the kale. My heart stopped: spring was over; the summer battles have begun.
Last year, I spent an enormous amount of time fighting the dreaded imported cabbageworm. The white butterflies, the adult form, are attracted to members of the cabbage family. In our family that means kale. The small, whitish butterflies lay yellow, bullet-shaped eggs under the leaves. Within a few weeks, the larva, the disgusting green worms, decimate leaves and stems. They then pupate and more adults emerge so within a growing season there are several generations. Surprisingly, they continue until late fall in my Northern Virginia area. I thought a cold nip in the air would help with a fall crop of kale but not so, butterflies and worms continued to appear after Thanksgiving.

At first, I tried picking the worms off but quickly concluded that: first, it’s gross; and second, it’s easier said than done. It is difficult to pick them a continuous basis especially if you are working full time and raising a family. It seems eggs are always hatching, larvae are always present from very tiny to very large, and the green color of the worm blends in with the green leaves. I know the other recommendation is to use row covers but my kale plants are in pots on the deck or tucked in the landscape, not in rows. I do not have a traditional vegetable garden where there are rows of one crop. I could put the row fabric on top of a bunch of kale but this would look ridiculous. Finally, I resorted to Thuricide®, a liquid form of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), thinking that I would just have to spray once or twice. Bt is a form of bacteria that kills the larvae thus a non-toxic, biological insecticide. However, it got to the point where I felt that all I was doing was spraying instead of growing and eating.

By the end of the year, I was fed up and vowed not to grow kale again. It wasn’t worth it but it did make me wonder, what do farmers do when they grow kale in my area? They would be faced with the same problem. If they used row covers that would be great, I would be willing to buy their kale. But if they used a chemical pesticide, I would want to know.

This spring, the kids wanted me to grow kale again. Of course, they did not know my travails; they did not pick worms off or spray plants. Like the good mom, I planted some in containers and some in the front garden. Can’t wait to try that new battery operated bug zapper!