I am privileged to know the scientist that invented BT ( Professor Thornley at USU) he said they use it on ears of corn when the hairs come out to stop corn worms. It’s good on potatoes, anything that eats veggies, I stopped him at the Bank one day to congratulate him on making the world a better place, . He’s gone now, I’m glad I took the opportunity to acknowledge him, he lite up like a Christmas tree.
I have 12 cabbage plants, and 12 brussel sprouts plants. I picked 121 cabbage worms off my plants today. And I've been using Neem oil! It's war now! BT it is!
Im an avid neem oil/castile soap/essential oil person myself. IT. IS. NOT. WORKING this year. I've heard of BT and have drug my feet to try it. Did you find it worked better than neem oil?
I'm so new to this and new to country living. I'm at war with weeds, cabbage worms, and the deer that destroyed my entire orchard in one night. I have no words except that I will win in the end lol.
Those cabbage worm set us back severely this Fall! No mercy for them. You are right, they are the master of camouflage. Great tips! We will be ready for them next season. Thanks for sharing. p.s. They seem to also like our purple Kale...
I had success using nasturtiums as companion plants. They don't work as a deterrent, but as a sacrificial crop, because cabbage butterflies seem to prefer them. Also, if you aren't growing a huge crop, just rubbing out the eggs with your thumb before they hatch is much easier than picking off the worms.
@@pwu8194ey are definitely not the size of a hair. Very easy to see if you have decent eyesight or magnifying glass. One of the methods mentioned is even "picking" the worms.
I live beside a nature preserve so have a serious critter problem as well. I've put my raised beds in 1/2" hardware cloth cages with removable tops and use drip tube sliced lengthwise to protect the edges from snagging me. So far that seems to also keep out the cabbage pests too. I have a couple of big wolf spiders too, and use a cloth to knock those white butterflies down so I can grab them and toss them into the spider webs. THAT's quite the show: spiders race out, discard the wings and wrap them up tight, and then repair the holes in the webs, ready for the next one! It's SO satisfying!
Thanks so much. The worms destroyed everything. This is my first year growing food. I just sat down and wrote a list of what I learned, both what works and what needs to change. I love cabbage and next year I'll be far more diligent. One morning everything was destroyed. Just subscribed and looking forward to more organic tricks and tips :)
Thumbs up to BT. I learned, from Brian, about BT last summer and used it on all my cabbage, beets, lettuces, kale, and other places where I’ve found cabbage loopers in the past. BT worked like a charm. I didn’t have near the damage and was able to grow cabbage to harvest. I grew red cabbage but never noticed whether it had been chewed. I just went down the row. I didn’t realize I could be fertilizing at the same time. Yea!! That will simplify spraying next summer. Thank you again for a great vid.
Thank you so much, you continue to teach me things i wish I'd known 40 years ago. My grandkids LOVE to run around with their butterfly nets to catch butterflies. I've taught them the only butterfly they cannot catch and release are those pesky white ones. They thus catch and dispose of those. But i still have the evidence of worms. You've given me even better ammunition to battle cabbage worms!
Every time I look at my kale I am depressed... two have been eaten away completely. One is surviving but only just ... today found two worms and took them off manually. I am now going to get this BT product. Thanks a lot for tips. By the way I love your T-shirt! Once I get BT my 'matatas' will be over. I will be able to say "Hakuna Matata." :-)
Although I thought earwigs were making swiss cheese of my bok choy - I now am considering the simple cabbage worm as well! Thank you for this. I'll probably go with row covers or other netting on my containers.
There are so many other chemicals in most commercial cigarettes. You need to find pure untreated tobacco. It will probably affect the taste of the plants though. 🤮
I sure wished I’d seen this video when I planted my cabbage. My entire crop have been eaten up by the cabbage worms. I had no idea the little white butterfly was my garden enemy. I thought they were pollinators. Now, I know!!! Next year will be different. I have been able to harvest and salvage a few heads, but boy, them worms are relentless. Thank you for sharing your garden knowledge!
Brian, I enjoy and benefit from your weekly videos. Hoping with your help that next year will be better than last. Just an interesting footnote, the brassica family is quite a large family of plants and weeds, but many people do not realize that the vegetables we grow in the brassica family are mostly all just one plant, bred for different dominant traits. Probably developed by the monks in the Middle Ages, who didn't have much else to do except gardening. I learned this interesting fact in college biology, it can also be looked up on Wikipedia. BTW, I grew red cabbage, and did notice a few holes in some, but I will be proactive next year. Brassica oleracea: kale, cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, kai-lan, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi
Oh thank you so much for these suggestions! I started SO many brassicas this year and planted out a TON of them after we finally made it past our last frost date here in Zone 6a, which has moved in the last several years to about mid-May. This is definitely going to save my Kale, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower harvest this year! Also, on a side note, I built a modified version of your tomato trellis to suit our beds this year (I pieced together raised beds from scrap pallet wood, old split fence rails, and other scrap wood I had laying around), and I ended up making use of a bunch of old thick wire T-post clips that we rarely use, but we always end up with whenever we buy T-posts, to make my own string spools to hang the line for the tomatoes on the trellis, and so far, it is working out AWESOME!! I greatly appreciate your videos and information- your channel is a lifesaver! Keep up the great work!
I started my fall crop of cabbage in my grow room in July & now its time to harden the off & get them planted in the outdoor garden.. . But man they're so perfect, I really hate to expose them to the insects! However, with BT in hand, I'm ready for those critters!!
Thanks for the excellent video. I use BT to control cabbage worms and other caterpillar type pests and you’re right it works great. The biggest problem I have with brassicas are aphids. I have to spray every two weeks religiously to control them. It seems like they go from zero to total infestation overnight.
Thanks for the reminder 😎 it’s been raining on and off here in DE for the last couple weeks. We’ve finally got a clear week so I went out and sprayed my BT on all my brassicas. Hand picking gets tiring 😪
I'm a bit late for today's video but its better late than never.... I can't believe that I have just learned so much from you on how to get rid of cabbage worms, now I need to find some cornmeals!!!
Thank you. Now I can identify the moth. BTW, you can use BT in a pond for mosquito control. Its toxic to the larvae. Thats what is in those mosquito dunks that you can buy at Home Depot.
Holly, great to know. I have two small fountains and use those mosquito dunks. (I originally thought I had tadpoles in the fountain until I realized it was mosquito larvae)🤣🤣🤣
@@NextLevelGardening I have a question will bt wash off in the rain every time I spray bt not long after I spray bt on my plants the rain comes I have sprayed my plants 3 times so far.
I find if I leave the caterpillar squashed bodies on the plant the butterfly will not relay eggs on that plant. They either smell or see the dead ones and they seem to feel it is unsafe to lay more eggs there. I've been doing it for the past 2 years and have had very few problems. I can then keep on top of the worms without any sprays.
Great info! I always grow more than I need, but I can’t bring myself to offer a cabbage to neighbors that has been gnawed on. White butterflies are BAD news.
Great info, Brian! I had given up on many plants because of the worms. Now you’ve armed me for next year. The way time is flying, it will be time for starting seeds before I know it. Thanks as always for your time and effort in sharing your wisdom. You are deeply appreciated!! Love and hugs to you, Emilie and Noah 🥰🤗❤️🥦🥦🥬🥬
I live in Barbados a tropical country and its very difficult for me to grow cabbage the worms always destroys them.my best to grow them is from october to late Febuary may.i try not to use pesticides but we don't get the natural things to us like BT but your videos are very informative thank you.
Thabk you so much ive been looking at those little white butterflies flutter around my plants and just look at them adoringly because i had no idea what they were 😂😂😂 my cabbages are shredded up like a toddler with a hole puncher came along. Now i know thanks !
Thanks so much for this! I've been spending 10 minutes a day picking them off. BT will be much easier! I used your affiliate link. Thanks for your content!
Imported Cabbageworms are nasty buggers. I'm wondering how many I've consumed this year in my kale salads since they are so camouflaged. Oh my. Love the videos keep them coming.
I have badminton rackets everywhere for those white butterflies. I also put bowls of beer for the slugs. I need an organic spray that won't kill my good bugs.
I have one cabbage plant. Bought it in a whim, and say the holes right away. I then found 8 worms on that one plant! I flicked them off, but I’m sure there are more. Ima plants some sacrificial plants to try to save it. But if it doesn’t, I’m ok with it
You have mentioned this BT before so I am now curious as to what kinds of pests does this work for besides the cabbage worms. Also, thought you might like to know my broccoli and cauliflower are still doing very well. I'll do a garden update later today. And the herbs and lettuce I planted in the greenhouse have been thriving too!
@@NextLevelGardening - That's terrific! How about squash bugs? I had those at the end of the season this year and I am afraid they will be back again next year.
If desperate enough, that moth/butterfly will lay on the purple leafed brassicas. Not fool proof! With netting, I found it had to be kept away (ie on a frame) from the leaves. Those determined little critters will find a leaf touching the netting, and squirt their payload through the hole. I have no idea why I have so many of the cabbage butterfly here, I am surrounded by grazing paddocks. This is my worst pest in the garden.
This awesome cheers, 99% of my cabbages and brocolli got decimated last year, the purple sprouting brocolli survived. I'm not even a massive fan of cabbage I just love how they look, I'll grow red cabbage only next year. 1 weird thing though, I pulled all my cabbages out of the ground and put them into pots to try to save them, they all got eaten except..... The ones I put next to a gooseberry Bush. No idea why.
I have a Question. I got the BT mentioned in the video. I sprayed my cabbage and brocolli completely. I noticed that a lot of it was beading up and runnung off the plants. Is this normal? Or am i missing something that helps it stick to the plants?
I have around 14 different brassicas growing rn. I have 2 inedible cabbages (on accident). They seem to really just go after the purple inedible cabbage.
So strange - I planted red cabbage this year along with green and to my surprise the red cabbage has had far more damage from white moths/worms than the green cabbage right next to them! And the green worms are just as hard to find.
I had these a few months ago and used D.E. and it worked pretty well, I think. Do the cabbage worms glow like tomato hornworms do under blacklight? Hunting hornworms was honestly the most fun I had in my garden all summer. I didn't think to check cabbage worms which popped up a few months after.
ty for the video. I have been curious about the white butterfly always flying over my new cabbage plants. I also saw some kind of dots on the leaves. Now I know these are eggs. I am going to get rid of it and also spray BT. Do you happen to know if neem spray will be equally effective (I already have that)
