well its spring! woohoo! but over the yrs. ive had a problem with cut worms!! any ideas how to handle them? also the old timers say dont plant till end of april around here (east tn. 2300ft) and weve hed freezing temps well into may,hell itll be 75 in dec. and we get late feezes in may! but i have an area ready to go, im wanting to use it for lettuce,maybe peas, but mostly my herbs.(anuals) any ideas on early plantings? oh most zone maps say im zone 6, but i dont realy know, we tent to get a late frost then 80s and 90s right after so bolting is a problem! any ideas wold be wonderful!!!! peace!
diatomaceous earth. works pretty well on cut worms.. we have about the same growing season,the rule i use is,when the oak leaves are the size of lambs ears its safe to plant warm crops... early plantings, we have, potatoes,mixed lettuce,broccoli,cabbage,carrots,onions,collards,turnips,peas,mustard and radishes in the ground,so all those ya can plant anytime... better hurry on the broccoli an cabbage though...
I was going to say diatomaceous earth, too! I'm trying it this year to keep the ants from using my artichokes as aphid farms.
know of any reasonably priced sources? ive looked at some and its pricey! havnt found a local source yet, but i hear thers this new place in boone ill have to track them down! thanks hippie,treehugger!! peace!
My mom takes crushed up eggshells & creates a ring around her plants to eliminate cutworms. We've also taken toilet-paper tubes & surrounded seedlings with them while they were small. I haven't tried diatomaceous earth; heard it works wonders... but the high cost scares me too love, mom
hey, mom thats a great idea, i thouht about doing the a can around the seedling thing, but as you know thats not so practical on a larger scale, but the toilet paper rolls sounds a whol lot more doabel! mixed with the eggshells sounds great! thanks! maybe we should make a thread called tips and tricks!!! im currently trying to make some colliodial silver for medicinal porpouses but have yet to perfect it and think that the substandrd batches could be used as a fungicide for fusarium wilt or outher typs of plant pathogens! what say ye all??? again, peace! and may the worms revel in your garden!!! hehe!
I'm a firm believer in, "Know your enemy", including what they look like and their life cycle. Cutworms are gray or dull brown fat caterpillars. They are 1 to 2 inches long with shiny heads. Here are some pictures: http://www.ipm.uiuc.edu/bulletin/pastpest/articles/200105b.html There are several species of cutworms. The term cutworm is used for the larvae of many species of moth. Most cutworms are in the moth family Noctuidae. Most overwinter as larvae in “cells” in the soil, in crop residues, or in clumps of grass. Feeding begins in spring and continues to early summer when the larvae burrow more deeply into the soil to pupate. Adults emerge from the soil one to eight weeks later, or sometimes overwinter. Most species deposit eggs on stems or behind the leaf sheaths of grasses and weeds. Eggs hatch from two days to two weeks later. I dug into some of my sources and came up with this list for Cutworm Control: Place cardboard collars (or toilet paper tubes) around transplant stems at planting time. Diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base of plants is very effective. Here's a list of where to get Diatomaceous earth for under $10: http://www.google.com/products?hl=e...8&lnk=pruser&hl=en&price1=1&price2=10&btnP=Go Bait formulations (sometimes using bran) containing Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki have been known to effectively control cutworm species when applied to the soil. Sprayed formulations may be less effective with cutworms, because the worms may not ingest enough of the toxin for it to be effective. Handpick cutworms (and other pests) after dark. This is often most productive following a rain or thorough watering. Cutworms (and other pests) larvae have a number of natural enemies. Predators include several species of ground beetles. Parasitoids include tachinid flies and trichogramma & braconid wasps. Cutworms may also be attacked by fungi, bacteria, and nematodes. Parasitic Nematodes are commercially available. Use products that contain strains of Steinernema carpocapsae (Biosafe, Biovector, Exhibit, Scanmask) and Heterorhabditis spp. "Farmscaping" increases the numbers and types of beneficial predators and parasites that help to keep cutworms (and all pests) under control. Encourage birds by placing birdbaths and feeders near your garden. Catch toads and placing them in the garden. In this old hippie's opinion, when it comes to Organic Farming & Gardening techniques, Farmscaping is second only to improving the soil. More info: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/farmscape.html#Farmscape Wrap onion stems around the stems of transplants. Placing a ring of moist wood ashes around the plants. Cultivate in the spring after vegetation has appeared and grown a few inches, then delay seeding to starve the cutworms. Keeping seedbeds free of vegetation for 3 weeks prior to planting time will aid in control of cutworms (and other pests). Cultivate frequently to injure and expose hiding cutworms (and other pests) to predators. As part of a crop rotation scheme, plow or till and fallow in mid- to late summer to prevent cutworms (and other pests). This is sometimes known as solarization. After harvest pick up garden debris and turn the soil to expose the larvae of cutworms (and other pests) or deeply bury the pupae. Now that's a lot of different stuff. What to do depends on a combination of how big your garden, how much time and/or money you have, etc. Some like the barriers, Diatomaceous earth, etc., are sort of quick fixes. Others like the farmscaping, Integrated Pest Management, etc., are longer term, broader measures that are more for preventing and controlling pest problems. Peace, poor_old_dad
maybe im confusing cut worms with anouther problem? when seeds sprout and very young they get cut just above loil level, i havnt noticed anything that looks like those picks, but lots of grubs white with red heads! is that a different problem? and as you mention about benificial insects i certainly dont want to kill them and wonder if the diatomacous earth would be more harmful in the long run? i realy dont have mutch of an insect problem exept for that, so would i be doing more harm than good with the diatoms? and thanks, you poor old coot lol!! peace!
