Toxic1979, Veg Garden 2016

[Toxic1979]

So I battle with the slugs for days and days... I start winning this battle, and it consumes my time. Then this afternoon, I decide I'm going to pull one of my turnips as its looking rather delicious, and the purple top is really showing.

Turnip pulled!

I see something has burrowed a hole in the side of my turnip. I cut it open with my knife and find a little tiny white worm wiggling around. I'll post pics later...

I google it... sounds like it root maggot.

The slugs I could see, and I learned there pattern of destruction. These little worms, are beneath my soil.... Can I just stick two steel prods deep in the ground, and connect a few 12 volt car batteries to them and destroy them all?

Why are they attacking my garden only? my neighbour is on vacation as has no problems at all. I'm starting to think they plan the attacks to annoy me... damn insects!

I pulled a rutabaga also... same thing. And yes it was next to the turnips.

So how do I kill these pests? Electricity? Fire? Ice? Please tell me there is a chemical I can buy (legally) that melts, and makes them scream in agony!

Next year, I think I'm just going to build a sealed greenhouse over the entire backyard.

Vegetable gardens are rare in my community... black spruce trees are in a huge abundance.... you would think they would go reproduce on those instead of my vegetables. Nope got to find those itty bitty turnips and lay eggs all over them instead!

Does BT work on them? That I can get here. THAT I HAVE... JUST IN CASE. Or is the fact that they are already burrowing a waste of time.

Open for advice... again! Where is nature when you need her? Why can't she unleash the natural predators of these pests into my garden.

[applestar]

This sounds very frustrating.

You bring up pests that I'm not so familiar with or that occur at time of the year different from mine.

I had to go look at an article about Alaska for climate equivalent to yours....

https://agresearch.montana.edu/wtarc/pro ... tSheet.pdf

[Toxic1979]

I read through it. Thanks.

It seems more preventive vs reactive. But with that said, everything I read about them seems to be... "Do this in order to ensure you do not get Root Maggot". It kinds sucks, cause it seems like I may need to remove all the plants in this area, burn them as if the zombie apocalypse has invaded my garden, and then make attempts to prevent them next year.

I'm trying to research the use of BT against them after I remove the crops in the area. About 20 turnip, and 6 rutabaga. Id like to think that the winter would kill them, but unfortunately they survive Alaska winters... much harsher than ours.

I may grow poisonous turnips next year.... that'll teach em!

Any further advise, much appreciated. But honestly I can't find anything on controlling it once its in your garden, aside from trying to limit their ability to spread. I wonder if I use the water hose to drown the area in water, while it force them to the soil surface so I can salt and vinegar them? LOL

Will generous amounts of vinegar kill them? lol

[rainbowgardener]

Like the Squash Vine Borer that is the bane of my existence, these are very difficult pests to deal with. They are difficult for similar reasons - the really destructive phase of its life occurs while it is INSIDE your plant (stem or in your case root), nicely protected from anything you want to do to it, by the plant it is busy destroying. While it is in the soil, it is in pupa form, also very protected inside the cocoon. I'm not sure vinegar or anything else you could add to the soil would harm it while in pupa form.

I am thinking your best bet for control of them would be through beneficial nematodes. You can buy these. They spread themselves through the soil and apparently can parasitize even the pupa.

https://www.arbico-organics.com/category ... gQodgbsNrA

[applestar]

I agree. it looked like predatory nematodes would be your best defense to me as well.

For this year, it seems to me that depending on the amount of damage, you should still be able to salvage your harvest by discarding the affected parts, even if you won't be able to wait for them to reach full size.

I'm having to do that with my onions due to maggots that have just hatched or have hatched and begun to burrow -- inspecting, cutting out and saving only the unaffected parts, and I often have to do the same with my potatoes and sweet potatoes due to wireworms tunneling through them. Same for SVB's Trying to store the harvested crops whole only gives those pests a chance to burrow and cause more damage to the harvest, reducing salvageable edible portions and/or infecting/introducing microbes that cause spoilage.

I was told that for onion maggots, I should try sprinkling hardwood ash around the onion plants as preventive. (Don't know if this is relevant for your problem). Note though that I suspect protection by beneficial nematodes and this wood ash preventive are probably mutually exclusive.

[Toxic1979]

I believe I have found th equivalent products in Canada. I don't think Arbico ships to Canada, especially live cultures of nematodes.

I'm using the following company... Natural Insect Control (NIC). I have enough for 200 sq. ft coming. I will report on the ease the of use, and wether or not it was successful... that may take more time.

Weblink to the product I ordered: https://www.naturalinsectcontrol.com/pro ... =000000363

Hopefully it works. Gardening becomes so discouraging when these nuisances invade. I'm basically going to make an attempt to stop the spread, and possible re-occurence for next year... which based on my reading could be much worse if not treated properly. I asked other gardeners here if they experienced this before, and they all said "Yes".... but it sounded like a dreadful
"yes". Some said they used BT and it seemed to work, but not sure as it could have been coincidence. They said to cover all cabbage, turnip and rutabaga all the time.

Next year I will be armed with more experience, and much more prevention.... vs my current reaction!

I won't dare say we don't get SVB here, as I might not be aware that we do... lol. I jinxed myself when I told applestar that we don't get many insect and bug issues here..... its been non-stop insect problems ever since! LOL.... at least I'm learning!

[Toxic1979]

A few pics of the turnip and rutabaga that was damaged by the root maggot....

Laurentian Rutabaga with Root Maggot

Purple Top Turnip with Root Maggot

[Toxic1979]

On a better note.. my Zucchini (Sure Thing) are doing well... this is the 6th one that I harvested from three plants.

Giving them to my neighbours now.

I pulled two carrots (Bolero, Napoli) just to see how they were doing. Better than last year, but I was expecting them to be a bit bigger by now. Anything I can do, or do carrots really start putting on growth when the weather cools?

[Toxic1979]

Week 33 Update.... I tried a broccoli from the garden. I'm guessing that when broccoli starts to put on flowers, its time to make sure it gets eaten. I cut it off and ate it that night. Tasted great! The other are not too far off producing flowers also.

A few Zucchinis seem to do fine and others seem to grow very weird near the flower end of the zucchini. It very soft and stubby. I'm wondering if its an inconsistent watering issues. My zucchinis love water. Min twice a day. I attached some pics below.

Also attached pics of the cabbage and broccoli still in the garden. And I do have the cauliflower leaves folded over the heads and kept in place using elastic bands.... to help keep the heads white.

This weeks questions:

1. How do you know who cabbage is finished growing? I have a few that are getting large, and firm.
2. Can you eat rutabaga leaves the same as you eat turnip leaves?
3. Approx how large do cauliflower typically get?
4. Does the bolting or flower production on broccoli change the taste of the broccoli?
5. Can you use broccoli leaves for anything? I.e.. similar to cabbage leaves... I love making cabbage rolls. Never thought of broccoli rolls.
6. Why do you guys do with the remainder of your broccoli stems.... mulch?
7. What does it mean when your cauliflower leaves are transparent in a few spots. It almost looks as though something was eating the leaves. There are spots that are transparent on some of the leaves.

Thanks again!

PS... still waiting on my nematodes. I plant on spraying the whole garden. Decided that next year, I'll spray in spring and fall.

[rainbowgardener]

4) you don't want to let your broccoli flower if you can help it It isn'the ruined and I have certainly thrown those yellow flowers into salads. But I feel like it gets a little tougher and not quite as fresh tasting. And in general with annuals flowering is a signal to the plant that its life span is mostly over.

6) You aren't ready to be talking about what to do with the stems . It's why you want to keep it producing . Cut the main head off and leave the plant. It will keep producing small side heads for a long time . Ultimately when the plant is done, it can be pulled and composted.

5) Yes, broccoli leaves are perfectly edible . Use them like cabbage Lea especially or like spinach or just chop them in salad.

[applestar]

Yep, its better to harvest the broccoli BEFORE the yellow flowers open -- some say when the little individual green buds are matchhead-sized. I freeze them like I do most of my extra vegs.

"Transparent in spots" in most cases often mean there is a leafminer inside -- between top and bottom layers of the leaf. You may want to examine more closely. (There will be frass somewhere in the clear pocket)

It could also be lens-effect sunburn from drops of water beading on the leaf, especially on cabbage-type waxy leaves.

[Toxic1979]

Thanks.

Ill look into the cabbage a little closer tomorrow, when I have light again. There a re few spots on the leaves. not trails though. I read up on the leaf miners and I figure it may very well be them. Ill double check tomorrow. So far this year, I've been amazed at the number of insects that I'm finding in our area, that I never knew we had.

Next year there will be cloth over everything. I've learned a lot this year already. Next year, use the coverings, spray beneficial nematodes in the spring and the fall, and hook up both fly zappers (bought two good for 1.5 acres each)... I may even try to convince the kids in our neighbourhood that catching slugs is a really fun game!

I'm just glad we don't have large spiders..... I'm petrified of spiders, We only get the small house spiders no bigger than your thumb. I know some of you are down south... and get some nasty big spiders. I believe one lady spoke of a family of wolf spiders giving in her garden. I would have sold the house... or burned it down! lol...

I will post a few pics of the cauliflower leaves tomorrow. I've gone ahead and harvested all broccoli that had flowers on it. 5 in total. Gave them to the neighbours... they loved them! Only 19 remaining. Ill harvest few more tomorrow, and maybe freeze them. The other variety we have is a later variety. I figure it should be a few more weeks before they are ready.

[Toxic1979]

Great to know that broccoli leaves are edible. Used as cabbage rolls for sure! ... or broccoli rolls!