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- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1356
- Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:02 pm
- Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)
Cabbage family failure with leaf curl.
I'm seeing a number of plants - all coles I think - becoming stunted, with tightly curled leaves. On opening the leaves I see no insects. Any opinions on what this is and how to deal with it?
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- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1356
- Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:02 pm
- Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)
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- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1356
- Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:02 pm
- Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)
I think I found the culprits; see photo. They're tiny - smaller than aphids? They look grey to the naked eye but enlarged I see they are green. What would they be and how do I dispose of them? I'm spraying with Safer's soap for starters but it's hard to get down into the tightly curled baby leaves in the center.
- applestar
- Mod
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- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Yep those are actually called CABBAGE Aphids. You want a sprayer with long nozzle. There are specialty sprayers like that — maybe for lubricating?
Sometimes skinny straws like coffee stirrers or box juice straws would fit tightly in front of regular hand held sprayers.
You probably know this, but the trick with dealing with aphids is to wet them down with the soapy solution, which makes them stretch up on their tippy-toes so as to lift their breathing orifices near their legs up high, thereby loosening their grip on the plants, then come back in about 5 minutes and blast them off with water.
Sometimes skinny straws like coffee stirrers or box juice straws would fit tightly in front of regular hand held sprayers.
You probably know this, but the trick with dealing with aphids is to wet them down with the soapy solution, which makes them stretch up on their tippy-toes so as to lift their breathing orifices near their legs up high, thereby loosening their grip on the plants, then come back in about 5 minutes and blast them off with water.
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- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1356
- Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:02 pm
- Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)