Eithman
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Tips on broccoli pests

Hello everyone. I tried growing broccoli this year and most of my plants ran into pest problems. I sprayed them with Captain Jacks Dead Bug 3-4 times over the period of 2 months and still ran into problems. Am I not spraying them enough or is there another problem? Thanks!
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rainbowgardener
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No, that sounds like a lot of spraying. Excess spraying usually has diminishing returns.

Did you ever ID your pest? It helps to know what it is you are trying to control. Cabbage and broccoli are often vulnerable to cabbage worms. If it is that, you should be able to find the little green worms if you check the plant thoroughly. You will also find gross, disgusting cabbage worm poop:
Image

If you have cabbage worms, you usually have the little white cabbage butterflies:
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Your damage doesn't look exactly like cabbage worm damage which can be holes in the middle of leaves, but it could be. It also might be some kind of beetle or grasshopper.

Tell us what you have seen in your garden and we can help better how to manage it.

In general, encouraging birds to your yard, with feeders, baths, bird houses is helpful for pest management. For soft bodied pests like aphids, slugs, smaller caterpillars (like the cabbage worms), diatomaceous earth sprinkled on and around the plants is helpful. For hard bodied leaf chewers, treat with Neem oil.

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digitS'
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Birds can certainly be of help. Their interest in food varies and I have learned that their population varies, as well.

Year after year, Song Sparrows have patrolled my garden. They were there earlier but I haven't seen one for weeks. Lots of quail have been in the garden last year and again this spring. I hope that they get the insect patrol job done without the Song Sparrows. I'll not take responsibility for that absence. Nothing much is different about this year's garden and I have not sprayed anything out there.

The cruciferous vegetables are sometimes a problem and this arid climate probably contributes to that by stressing the plants. The biggest problem has been aphids in the cabbage. Aphids can be fairly easy to kill with insecticidal soap and oils but the rolled cabbage leaves can shield them - sometimes, much to the cabbage detriment.

Cabbage moth caterpillars can also cause problems. I will use Captain Jack on the potato beetles, cucumber beetles and stink bugs. Bt thuringiensis has worked well on the caterpillars in seasons before the spinosad in Captain Jack was available.

Steve

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A good garden patrol helps. You can put a barrier up for some pests like the butterflies or beetles with insect netting. Dipel targets only caterpillars. Do not plant butterfly plants near the vegetable garden. You can attract other predators like spiders, lizards and toads to take care of a lot of the problem.
Plants that attract beneficial insects
alyssum
fennel (plant it somewhere in the yard all by itself, it does not like company)
Marigolds traps aphids, attracts ladybugs. Some marigolds can be planted as a cover crop for nematode supression
Yarrow ( I don't recommend. It is invasive)
Composite single flowers daisies, cosmos, zinnia, sunflowers, salvia, snapdragons, single marigolds - plant somewhere in the yard. Plant something all season long to provide nectar for beneficial insects
Herbs - green onions, dill, basil, fennel, marjoram, mints ( in containers, they are invasive), oregano, thyme, rosemary.

Provide habitat water, some bare soil for ground nesting bees, amaranth (provides shelter for predatory beetles), shrubs, and trees. hollow logs, broken crocks (toad houses). Stacks of stones and log drilled with 1/4 and 1/2 inch holes for solitary bees.
Planting a variety of plants all over the yard and especially plants that attract beneficial insects will make pest control a lot easier. Avoid spraying and give the predators a chance to do their job. Tolerate some damage. Predators will control pests but not eliminate them. If all the pests are eliminated the beneficial insects would have no food and they would move on.

The chemicals you used, especially the Captain Jack (spinosad) which should not be used more than 4 times a year since pests can build up resistance. You need to identify and target the particular pest you have. Organic chemicals have limited range. They are o.k. for soft bodied pests like aphids, soft scale, and crawlers, but are less effective on hard bodied pests. Slugs and snails can be controlled by handpicking, toads, chickens (they will also eat your lettuce and seedlings) or slug bait (beer or board traps, sluggo). You have to go out at night with a flashlight or I prefer early in the morning while the dew is still on the grass. I can see them better.

Most organic pesticides are contact killers and have very limited residual. Pyrethrins may last a day but they are also very harmful to bees if plants are in flower. If you don't see the pest when you are spraying, it may not do much good. The sprays you used have no effect on snails, slugs, caterpillars or butterflies which are the most likely suspects with cabbages.

Healthy plants are the best defense. If they are given the right environment, food, soil, and water, they resist pests better. Weak plants will attract pests.

If you grow the same thing in the same place at the same time and have a lot of pest issues, you are just inviting the pests to the buffet. Either rotate crops, or don't plant heavily ravaged plants (or their relatives) for a couple of years so the pests have a chance to move on. Sometimes you have to choose the right plants for your environment and grow those you can and get the rest from the market.



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