Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Who's Eating My Cauliflower?

Deer


Bunnies


Aphids


Cabbage Worms


Slugs
When I first posted this picture, I incorrectly labeled this as a broccoli plant. When I bought the starters, they were ambiguously labeled, and I guessed wrong.

Also, less than a week after this photo was taken, the plant in the picture was chewed down by ants (who knew?). But I didn't get a picture of them.

5 comments:

Chris Bogart said...

Deer?! How do you know?

akrizman said...

I didn't see the deer or find any tracks or droppings. I'm guessing it's deer based only on the size and location of the bites.

Nearby tomato branches were chomped cleanly at the high rung of the tomato cage as well. I figure only deer would be tall enough to reach those.

systemsgo said...

Wow! how do you find these guys? I have found only 2 tomato worms. They are gross and to big to exterminate so I wrapped them in beet leaves and threw them over the fence into the restaurant parking lot and left them to a fate unknown to me. I have seen one ladybug and she has an open invite to bring all her friends. The rest of the bite holes in all the other veggies are a mystery.

akrizman said...

These guys are unfortunately too easy to find. I have a swarm of ladybugs doing their best with the aphids, but there are just too many of them. I don't mind sharing with the worms, they eat mainly the leaves, and since this is Oregon, the leaves grow faster than bugs, bunnies, and deer can eat them.

I harvested one and it took a really long time to wash the bugs off it, and I know there are lots more aphids I didn't get. I don't mind; I can use the extra protein, but I don't suspect my coworkers, friends, and guests would appreciate them, so I can't give it away.

If my Aunt Betty were here, I'm sure she would share my aphid-covered cauliflower with me.

The other four cauliflower have been ready to harvest for a week, but I can't eat that much so I just left them there. Now they're getting discolored by the sun (I don't think that effects the flavor though). Still, I think I'm not excited about these last four and might just pull them out.

Arwen said...

Mmmmmm....aphids! They add sweetness! I've always used mild soapy (good friendly soap, not scary chemically soap) water applied every other day until the pests go away and then randomly as I think of it to keep them away.