Alright, this is my first garden at my new house and I made two raised garden beds.
They are both growing really well, but I have something eating my plants and I don't know what it is!
I have had one basil plant cut right down at the base. The rest of the plants (cucumber, beans, etc) are all having the leaves eaten in little half circles. The only things I actually see in the garden when I am out there are little red ants.
Yesterday I noticed that the beds are right next to a rose bush that appears to be eaten in a similar manner, could this be the culprit (bugs spreading from the rose bush to the garden). What can I use on the garden/rose bush to get rid of whatever is eating the leaves? I don't want them to cut down my tomato plants and ruin everything else!
I got some neem oil and thought I would give that a try, can I spray this on the plans and protect them, or is it a contact killer only? Also, can I put it on the rose bush too?
I am in New Hampshire if that helps.
Thanks,
Jason
This is my first venture into gardening as well. My insect damage was different than yours, so I suspect we have different pests (mine are earwigs). But my suggestion is to go looking for the culprit. Check at different times during the day AND at night. I didn't find my earwigs until I went out after dark w/ a flashlight. Now I go earwig hunting every night, and the damage has definitely slowed.
Circular damage makes me think of what I've seen caterpillars do to tree leaves. The basil cut down at the base sounds like a cutworm, though. Some people put little sticks or nails next to the plant stem when planting, so the cutworms can't wrap around the base and do their thing. Others use a paper collar (like a toilet paper tube) - you'd put that under the soil as well as above, so the cutworms can't get to the stem. Search this site for cutworms - lots of helpful info.
Remember to look under the leaves as well as in the crooks of any branches. Happy hunting!
Circular damage makes me think of what I've seen caterpillars do to tree leaves. The basil cut down at the base sounds like a cutworm, though. Some people put little sticks or nails next to the plant stem when planting, so the cutworms can't wrap around the base and do their thing. Others use a paper collar (like a toilet paper tube) - you'd put that under the soil as well as above, so the cutworms can't get to the stem. Search this site for cutworms - lots of helpful info.
Remember to look under the leaves as well as in the crooks of any branches. Happy hunting!
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engineeredgarden
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Your basil was probably nipped by a cutworm. Dig around in the soil near the base of the (now) stubbed basil, and see if you find a leathery looking caterpillar. Squish accordingly. They're usually found in gardens that were recently lawn/field, but if you loaded your raised beds with yard dirt, that's probably how it got there. Or a moth flew in and laid an egg. Either way, they do their damage at night and are real boogers. Some people make little fences around their seedlings with paper tubes to block them.
As to the cukes & beans, are the half circle holes on the edges or dotting the leaves? If they're dotting the leaves , it may be flea beetles. Look for super tiny black beetles. They do make alotta holes, but I've never had them actually kill a plant, so I don't worry too much about them.
I don't use it myself, but there's a great "sticky" on Neem and its uses over in the Insect & Plant Disease Forum.
As to the cukes & beans, are the half circle holes on the edges or dotting the leaves? If they're dotting the leaves , it may be flea beetles. Look for super tiny black beetles. They do make alotta holes, but I've never had them actually kill a plant, so I don't worry too much about them.
I don't use it myself, but there's a great "sticky" on Neem and its uses over in the Insect & Plant Disease Forum.
Thanks for the replies, I will check for earwigs as I know I have them in the area (found them under a board the other day)
The half circles are all along the outside edge of the leaf, makes what looks like a serrated knife edge.
If it is earwigs, is my best bet to just go try to kill them at night? or is there something I can put down to help control/kill them (without hurting my garden or me when I eat to food
)
The half circles are all along the outside edge of the leaf, makes what looks like a serrated knife edge.
If it is earwigs, is my best bet to just go try to kill them at night? or is there something I can put down to help control/kill them (without hurting my garden or me when I eat to food
)I will admit to using Sluggo Plus for the earwigs. I know that a lot of people don't favor it, even though it's considered organic, because of the 99% of unnamed, inert ingredients. But...I was *rapidly* losing all of my bean seedlings. It was either no harvest, chemical pesticides, or Sluggo Plus. I went with the one that would allow me to sleep at night. 
I still kept manually removing and killing them at night, so it's hard to say if that or the Sluggo Plus is what's keeping the population under control. I do know that the seeds I planted after the infestation are up and have very little damage on them (knock on wood). So....*something* is working.
I still kept manually removing and killing them at night, so it's hard to say if that or the Sluggo Plus is what's keeping the population under control. I do know that the seeds I planted after the infestation are up and have very little damage on them (knock on wood). So....*something* is working.
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applestar
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It's a leaf cutter bee. Some species are native and considered to be important wild pollinators. Their "damage" doesn't seem to affect the plant growth overmuch. And I believe the leaf cutting activity is mostly in spring only.
My maple saplings are looking like this:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image6958.jpg[/img]
My maple saplings are looking like this:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image6958.jpg[/img]
Well thanks for all the tips (especially the one about going out at night!) Turns out it is definitely earwigs. I HATE those things. I went out tonight with a flashlight and found them all over a couple plants. I crushed them with some rock and then found some cracks they seemed to be clustering in. I sprayed a little garden bug killer in the cracks (says safe for vegetables up until 1 day before harvest...I have like 30 left haha and I didn't spray on plants yet).
I will see how the nightly earwig hunt helps but they almost killed off my beans, peapods, and cucumbers. Lets hope I can keep them in control. Any earwig elimination tips are greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
JR
I will see how the nightly earwig hunt helps but they almost killed off my beans, peapods, and cucumbers. Lets hope I can keep them in control. Any earwig elimination tips are greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
JR