[Arid_gardener] broccoli pesticides?

[Tom & Linda Watson]

Take a look under the leaves and see if you find any small green
caterpillars.   The damage you describe makes me think you have a few
cabbage loopers, the larvae of small white butterfly.   If you find them,
pick them off and toss them away for the birds to find.   If hand picking
doesn't solve the problem, check your local nurseries for products
containing 'Bt,' a bacterial toxin that will kill such insects, but does not
bother beneficial insects, birds, or mammals.

For future reference, I usually plant something like white sweet alyssum
with or near crops that are vulnerable to loopers.   These flowers attact
beneficial wasps and flies that lay their eggs on the caterpillars.  The
larvae of the wasps and flies feed on the loopers.

Tom

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robin" <yulemom@mvdsl.com>
To: <arid_gardener@Ag.arizona.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 10:27 AM
Subject: [Arid_gardener] broccoli pesticides?


> Hello fellow Gardeners!
> I have my very first garden since moving to the NV climate, and my first
> garden in ten years, so I'm a bit of a novice. My broccoli is doing
> wonderful, but I'm starting to get little holes in the leaves. I don't
know
> what kind of pest this is and I would like to attack it in an organic or
> natural way. Any help is much appreciated!
>
> Robin Yule
>
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