The Vegetable Garden Pest Handbook: Identify and Solve Common Pest Problems on Edible Plants - All Natural Solutions!

WHAT’S YOUR “BUG” TOLERANCE?

I’ve got a question for you: When you walk into your garden and see one or two problem insects, do you dive into action or wait to see if you’ll need to intervene?

In some cases, particularly when it comes to vegetable gardens, it’s important to jump in right away while the pests are at a vulnerable stage and few in number. But remember that beneficials can help us out of a tight spot.

A few years ago, I was walking through my garden and stopped to check on the currant bushes. When I saw a lot of puckered leaves, I inwardly groaned. Aphids. I turned over some leaves. Yes, lots and lots of them were on the undersides. I debated about what I wanted to do but decided I didn’t have the time at the moment.

You guessed it: My schedule got busy over the next few days and I completely forgot about those aphids. A few days later, I suddenly remembered them and dashed back out to the garden. Instead of witnessing more aphid mayhem, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that almost all of them had vanished. In their place was a collection of adult ladybugs, their larvae, and even some pupae, which are essentially pre-adults.

As you can see in the photo opposite, ladybug larvae look rather frightening. Fortunately, I knew exactly what they were and that their voracious appetite for aphids is legendary. They had come to the rescue and enjoyed quite a feast, courtesy of my forgetting about the problem.

The moral of the story is this: If we are patient, beneficials will often take care of problems for us. Chapter two profiles the most common vegetable garden pests and the timing for using simple organic controls—and it indicates the natural predators that target each pest.

ORGANIC CONTROLS

PEST PROFILES

CABBAGE LOOPER Family name: Noctuidae Latin name: Trichoplusia ni

Cabbage looper moth larvae primarily chew on the leaves of cabbage family crops but can be found on a few other vegetables, as well. While they are widespread, loopers only overwinter in regions where the temperatures don’t drop below freezing. These caterpillars are pale green with white, lengthwise stripes and three pairs of prolegs that cause them to move in a looping motion typical of inchworms. They can grow up to 1½ inches (3.8 cm) long. Unlike cabbage worms (Pieris rapae, page 70), which are the larvae of butterflies, loopers have fairly smooth skin. The adult moths have speckled gray forewings with an unusual white pattern on them and pale brown hindwings; they are active at night.

LIFE CYCLE

The moths lay round, cream-colored eggs that hatch in 2 to 5 days. The larvae go through several instars over the course of 3 weeks. After pupating in a thin, silky cocoon located on or near the same plant upon which they’ve fed, they emerge as moths in 1 to 2 weeks. Even though the adult stage of the moth only lasts about 12 days, they can lay up to 600 eggs in that time.

TYPICALLY SEEN ON

Cabbage family crops (arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radishes, rutabagas, turnips), lettuce, peas, potatoes, spinach

SIGNS OF THEIR ACTIVITY

Feeding damage on the undersides of the leaves; jagged holes through the leaves; holes that bore into the heads of cabbage or broccoli; green frass around or below the plant damage

CONTROLS