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The Green Cabbage/Kale Caterpillar: A Vegetable Garden Pest
Identifying and Hand Picking
If you see the white butterflies in your garden, you will soon have green caterpillars. They will eat holes in your cabbages, kales, and related plants. This Knol is about identifying the pest and removing it by hand. I wrote another Knol on BT control of caterpillars which I linked to this one.
The Green Cabbage/Kale Caterpillar:
A Vegetable Garden Pest
By Gary Pilarchik LCSW-C For more vegetable gardening information please check out my blog: The Rusted Vegetable GardenNoticing the Holes
Once you see the white butterflies around your garden, which look more like moths, expect to soon see holes in your cabbages, kales, and related vegetables. These aren't slug holes, they are from the green cabbage caterpillar. The holes look just like the picture below. As soon as you seeone hole, it is time for hand picking. |
| Green Caterpillar Damage to My Kale |
Look Closely: They are Green for a Reason
They are green and tend to vary to the color of the leaf. Once there is a hole - they are there. They will also leave dark green droppings. The droppings will que you to their general location. Look closely. The eggs are laid in groups. So if you find one caterpillar there are others. It may take a few days to get them all. If you double click the photos they will enlarge. They may be on either side of the leavesor resting on the stem when they aren't feeding. |
| The Caterpillar is Right on the Point |
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| I Moved it for a Better Look |
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| Removed and Killed |
If there is one there is more. Carefully check the leaves with holes. They don't like to move. Check the front and backs of the holed leaves and down the stem. I found three on this plant.
Remove and Kill Them
Simply stated - remove and kill them. There is a life cycle. Butterflies appear, lay eggs, and hatch eating machines. If you remove them, they won't return until the next year or cycle depending on your zone. The key to managing them by hand is to visit the host plants frequently and look for that first hole. Get them quickly and you will reduce damage. Sometimes you need more then your eyes and hands. I included a brief excerpt from another Knol below. How to Use Bascillus Thuringiensis in Your Garden?
Here is the basic process of using BT to control the green caterpillar in your garden as well as other caterpillars.- Purchase Bt via mail order or atfrom your localgarden shop.
- Reading the directions for mixing.
- Purcahse an inexpensive 1 gallon sprayer.
- Mix Bt with water the day you are going to use it. (It is not effective to let it sit mixed for days.)
- Spray the outer and underside of your plants weekly.
- You may need to do it a 2nd time, in a week, if there is excess rain.
- Only spray the plants that are prone to caterpillars.
How to Plant a Tomato an Tend to Its Needs
Cool Weather Vegetable Gardening
Growing Radishes
How to Create a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden
What are Heirloom Vegetable Seeds
Starting Tomatoes Indoors (In Pictures) Ten Things About Tomatoes How to Build a Garden Slug Beer Trap (In Pictures)
How to Grow Upside Down Tomatoes (In Pictures)
How to Grow Tomatoes in an 18 Gallon Storage Container (In Pictures) Three Finger Method to Pruning Tomatoes (In Pictures) Building a Framed Layer "Lasagna" Garden (In Pictures) Deadheading Flowers: How to Keep Your Plants Flowering Controlling Leaf Eating Caterpillars with Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt)
Growing Basil Everywhere: A Year Round Herb Growing for Size: Radishes, Carrots and Root Crops
How to Build a Hot-House Tomato Cage: A Slideshow in Pictures A Basic Garden Dirt or Soil Recipe
How to Grow Peppers: What Makes a Hot Pepper Hot?
When to Start Tomatoes Indoors and Plant Outdoors Public Domain Gardening Books and Articles
Combating Garden Slugs & Snails LOL: Iron Phosphate Ten Tips ForManaging Early Tomato Blight: A Disease Mulching Your Vegetable Garden With Grass Clippings Planting Onion Bunches in a Raised Bed Garden Planting Spinach in Finger Holes Amending Your Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Soil (Yearly!) 12 Benefits of Building a Raised Bed Garden Planting Peas in Large Containers Planing Peas, Carrots, and Long Radishes in a Raised Bed Garden How to Start Vegetable Seeds Indoors (In Pictures) Building Indoor Grow Lights forVegetable Seed Starting (In Pictures) Planting Strawberries in a 5 Gallon Container: Roots and Crowns (In Pictures) Battling Tomato and Vegetable Blights and Mildews with Wettable Sulfur How to Grow Green Beans and Other Beans: The Basics Killing Slugs and Snails with Iron Phosphate Bait How to Build and Plant Your First Vegetable Garden
Turning Tomatoes Into Gasoline What is Garden Soil PH? What is Acidity? What is Alkalinity? Building a Low Cost Vegetable Trellis: In Pictures Three Tips to Preventing Tomato Disease: Mulching, Pruning, and Watering The Green Cabbage/Kale Caterpillar: A Garden Pest
My Gardening Recipe Knols
A Basic Salsa Recipe (In Pictures)
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