homegrown - welcome

kale

 Back to Forum

Posted by HELENC 26 Aug 2010 - 9:17:00 PM

I love it but so do the grubs.... any suggestions greatly appreciated....... have spuds, pumpkin, beans, carrots, herbs ++++, cauliflower, broccolli etc growning but the little green grubs go for the Kale all the time.... helen

Comments (1)

Re: EDITOR 1 Sept 2010 - 1:04:00 PM

A product like Dipel with the natural bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis kills caterpillars and – although there's a backlash because of Bt's adoption by the GM industry – are considered organic. There's an arguable case for occasional spot spraying for personal purposes.

Vigilance and a hands-on approach is a good eco approach though time-consuming and no guarantee against hungry hordes. Hand-watering will keep you in touch and up close with the plants. Investigate any sign of damage and destroy any eggs or larvae. Drown them in soapy water or there's anecdotal evidence that leaving them there crushed will deter other raiders.

There's the prevention is better than cure strategy. My father rushes out whenever he spies a moth out the back window hovering over his crop and claps it between his hands or thongs to stop it from laying its eggs in the first place.

If your winters are relatively warm, you might be able to grow the kale then with less insect competition. Although the warmer it is for the crop, the cosier it is for the bugs too.

Tell our Plant Selector what you want & like and we'll search thousands of plant profiles for compatible matches

Plant of the Day

Burgundy Bottlebrush

Plant type: evergreen shrub
H: 3m W: 2.5m
Sunlight: hot overhead sun

Find out more
cottage style

Fast Facts

cottage style
The cottage garden collects favourite flowers and colours and combines them to create complimentary or contrasting effects.

Palmetto

Palmetto Soft Leaf Buffalo is ideally suited as a lawn in many applications.



More products

Get the Plant Selector's full features plus news, forums & competitions. Sign up, it's free.
Click here for more