Just as the seedlings we planted last month were starting to grow into full sized plants, we have been hit with a caterpillar infestation. And their favorite foods are brassica vegetables: specifically Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.
It looks as if we have staved off the attack, picking 3-4 caterpillars off over 100 plants that will get us through the winter harvests. Then spraying with a dose of Bt, Bacillus thuringiensis. Bt is the organic pesticide that is used against all kinds of caterpillars. It is better than many other pesticides, organic or not, because it is selective about the insects that it kills. Bt is a bacterium that will live on the leaves and then kills the caterpillar after they ingest the leaf. It doesn’t affect the plants or the beneficial insects in the garden.
In addition to the caterpillars, we have Bagrada beetles. These are also attacking the same brassica vegetables, but has been choosing the smaller plants, including a rows of newly planted radishes and baby greens.
Then we have earwigs in the Napa cabbage. They nearly decimated our fall crop. They get inside the layers of leaves from the top of the head, nibbling the tips creating a beautiful, but not very appetizing, lace pattern.
Fortunately, the changing seasons will slow down the insects. This time of year, we want the cold weather to come, in order to make a less hospitable environment in the garden.
The Week’s Harvest:
Bok Choy or Chioggia Beets – This week we picked the remaining bok choy heads leftover from the same planting as last week. We had 10 heads left, and so members either received the bok choy or they had our first beets of the season. We had enough beets for 6 members, so the combination worked out well to split between the baskets. The beet harvest is great for the ones that are left in the ground. They now have more space to grow.
Napa Cabbage Hearts – I’ve never sent out this before, but I was happy to salvage the center of each head of Napa cabbage that was left from the earwigs. There is not much worse that putting in several months of work towards growing a vegetable and then not be able to sell it to a customer.
Lettuce Heads – This week we did lose a dozen heads of lettuce. During my week off, one of the varieties was more sensitive to the warm weather and bolted unexpectedly. We have several other types in the ground, so I picked green leaf lettuce for everyone and we will have more for a few weeks. Our fall weather is perfect for growing lettuce.
Braising Greens – We grow a mix of mustard greens we, and Johnny’s Seeds, call braising mix. We harvest the leaves when look like spring mix, or baby lettuce. They have a bitter flavor. They can be eaten raw like salad, but when you give them a light sauté, it tames the bite.
Arugula – We had a lot of arugula leaves also ready to trim. Every member got several cups of baby leaves. This is good eaten raw or cooked with a light sauté. Most salad recipes use cured meat and cheese to balance the flavor, but I suggested this week to do the same thing with avocado and walnuts.
Sweet and Hot Peppers – The peppers looked great, so we continued to harvest a selection to send out. I’m trying to find a home for several habaneros and Thai chiles if you need a kick.
Green Beans – I saidthat we would be done for a few weeks last week, but these are too hard to resist when they are there. Green beans are something that you can never have too many.
Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Eggplant, Basil
I’m afraid of a revolt, but we still sent out more of our summer crops. I do think that the summer squash is officially done. So that will end first.
Melon and a Pomegranate – We had a late season honeydew melon, that went out today. They were delicious. And, one pomegranate was added to the mix. They are starting to split on our tree, so it is time to start picking. We have an alternative source of these through the fall, so there are more to come.
This week I checked on the sweet potatoes in the ground. They are not yet ready, and I resisted digging up any for an official taste test.
Next week we will need to harvest most of the winter squash and get them into storage. We have pumpkins, butternut squash and spaghetti squash.
We will be planting more carrots, beets and radishes, to harvest this winter.
Have a great week,
Julie Moreno