Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

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Tag: Cabbage

How Do I Keep Worms Off My Cabbage Crops?

“All my cabbage family plants…example broccoli, cabbage…etc. get worms on them and they eat them up. What is the best pesticide to use? I even cover them with netting and they still get wormy.” Question from Chris of Orange, Connecticut

Answer: White cabbage moths, also called cabbage loopers/worms, are the most common pest (click here to learn how to manage them) of crops in the cabbage family, but they are really easy to manage. If your cabbage-family crops get loopers yearly, then apply pre-emptive applications of OMRI Listed BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) to stop them in their tracks. Lots of companies make this highly effective pesticide, and not only does it work, but it does not harm any beneficial insects. Start spraying your cabbages, broccoli, kale, collards, and cauliflower shortly after putting these crops out. That way, the caterpillars won’t stand a chance, and you will have clean crops!

Happy gardening!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

Mildew, Insects, and Rodents Damaged My Vegetable Garden. Help!

Mildew, Insects, and Rodents Damaged My Vegetable Garden. Help!

“My raised bed gardens were a disaster this year!  Mildew, cabbage worms, rodents – even though I thought I had great organic soil mix and high enough barriers.  What can I do this fall to get a great start next spring?” Question from Glenda of Sewell, New Jersey

Answer: I am sorry to hear that your vegetable garden was a downer this year. Different pests and diseases need to be dealt with in different ways. Here are some recommendations and resources.

Ways to Ward Off Vegetable Garden Pests and Disease

  1. Clean up. The best way to ward off pests and diseases is to remove all plant material from your vegetable garden in fall and do the same in early spring when winter weeds abound. It removes the overwintering eggs of some pests as well as plant-borne diseases.
  2. Go no-till. Each season, my no-till garden gets covered with a 2-3-inch layer of compost to stop weeds. Rodents cannot find a safe harbor in this type of mulch, unlike straw and leaf mulch. (Click here to learn how to create a no-till vegetable garden.)
  3. Plant resistant varieties. The more disease- and pest-resistant the vegetable varieties you choose, the better.
  4. Space plants and rows well. Increased airflow and space in the garden will dissuade many diseases, pests, and rodents. (Click here for more tips for tackling rodents and other mammalian pests.)
  5. Plan for pests: If your cabbages have had cabbage worms in the past, expect the worms to return. Apply pre-emptive applications of safe, OMRI Listed BT spray to stop them in their tracks. By learning the life cycles of different pests that have plagued your garden in the past, you can plan precise strikes with the correct pesticides.
  6. Give your plants a good head start. Choose (or raise) the healthiest plants you can. Large, robust seedlings have a greater chance of resisting pests and diseases and producing high yields. If growing plants from seed, be sure to give your seedlings plenty of light and room to develop stout, dense growth, and ample root systems. (Click here for seed-starting tips.)

I hope these tips help. You may also want to watch the video about overcoming powdery mildew below.

Happy vegetable gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

What Are Good Small-Space Garden Vegetables for Spring?

“What food crops can I plant in my vegetable plot this upcoming spring, if any?  I already dug out my summer plot and have limited land, so I would like to use it, if possible.” Question from Jennifer of Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania

Answer: There are so many wonderful cool-season spring vegetables that will grow well in your limited garden space. These can be started indoors as early as late January and planted outside in mid to late March in your area (Click here to learn more about seed starting). For smaller gardens, choose more compact varieties. Here are good spring vegetables to consider growing:

Cole crops (cabbage, cauliflower, collards, broccoli, kohlrabi, and kale), greens (arugula, endive, lettuce, mustard greens, radicchio, and spinach), spring root crops (radishes, potatoes, scallions, spring carrots, and turnips), and peas are all excellent spring vegetables. Most of these don’t need a lot of space. Some of the “larger” crops, like cabbage and peas, all have compact varieties available, if you search for them in seed catalogs. For example, the little ‘Farao’ cabbage and 2-3-foot ‘Sugar Daddy‘ snap peas are both small are space-saving.

Spring is also a great time to plant cool-season herbs, like chives, cilantro, and dill, as well as some fruits, like strawberries.

Below are some more articles and videos to consider reading/watching on the subject of spring edibles.

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

5 Fast Cool Season Vegetables for Instant Gratification

Can You Help Me Grow Better Root Vegetables?