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Bug problems...

I have had bug issues with my A/P system since I started it. First all my lettuce got eaten by catepillers, then several weeks later I replanted lettuce, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, etc. The lettuce got eaten again, but I can't see any catepillers, and the air temp is quite cold so I'm not sure which bugs could still be active. The broccoli and brussel sprouts starting showing signs of getting nibbled on so I used a organic neem oil & warm water spray to mist the leaves and media grow beds. For a couple days this seemed to have worked, but then the pest returned. Now, as you can see in the picture below, several plants have had their leaves completely eaten. The cabbage has been mostly left alone. I did catch a glimpse of a chipmunk in my greenhouse, so perhaps he is eating the plants?? I used the neem oil again yesterday to try and protect the few remaining plants, but would appreciate any advice you can offer. (sorry picture is sideways...)

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Permalink Reply by Rohan Roy on January 23, 2013 at 7:41am

Hmmm, I'm not sure it it's contributing to bug or chipmunk problems, but it looks like your media is wet at the surface and you've got algae growing. I would suggest lowering your water level or adding more media. I had some caterpillers eating plants as well and just had to be really vigilant about picking them off (they're really hard to see!) I had black caterpiller feces dots underneath the plants where they were, if you don't have those, maybe chipmunks are the problem, and all I can think of is sealing the greenhouse to keep rodents out. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by jim mckee on January 23, 2013 at 12:23pm

Or slugs (they leave trails).

I heard a story about a chipmunk in a mouse trap but I can't remember how it went.

Something about fresh greens as bait?

Ditto on the top of your grow bed is too moist, tweak the water level down just a little. You can also remove the top 1/2" of algae'd bed material,, clean it an replace it. because dead dried algae becomes an organic in the mix to have to deal with as bio reactions.

An I'd suggest increase the density of vegs per square foot a bit (they are easy to transplant from overcrowded spots to thin spots in the beds )