Early October to-do’s

If you have planted cool season veggies like cabbage, cauliflower, kale, broccoli or brussels sprouts be on the look out for small holes in the leaves, which are signs of cabbage worms or diamondback moth larvae.

Cabbage worm adults are the white butterflies frequently seen around cabbage plants in the daytime.  Their yellow, bullet-shaped eggs, attached to the undersides of leaves, hatch into 1 1/2" long green worms with a light stripe down the back.

Diamondback moths fly in the evening.  Their larvae are tiny 1/4" long green worms that feed on the undersides of leaves and when disturbed, wriggle rapidly and often drop from the plant on a silk thread.  Adult moths spend the winter hidden under plant debris.

Clean up after harvest and cultivate the soil thoroughly to expose and destroy overwintering moths and the pupae of cabbage worms.  In the meantime, treat your current crops, when leaves show feeding damage, with organic BT while the worms are still small.

Happy October.