Oh no! Even after putting ladybugs in my little cabbage tunnel, I still have aphids a week later. I've removed as many as possible and sprayed them with a good stream of water. I am determined to eat these cabbage so any tips would be greatly appreciated Thank you
Columbia—I spray aphids with soapy water a few days in a row, but first I mash the colonies with my thumb. It is rash, but I cannot abide them in my veggies. I only do this in the veggie plots aphids in other places I use other measures. Good luck combating these mean-o’s.
Ladybugs luv aphids. There are other beneficial bugs that eat aphids and other soft bodied insects. Sometimes better air flow helps and by keeping the area well hydrated while sprinkling off aphids they have no lungs and cannot breathe off they go to the bug rainbow. Sometimes just by adding a timer on a hose to spray the plants every couple of hours is a good way to control them. Maybe even get mantis eggs which have hatch by now are victorious hunters as well as argiope harmless spider that leave those beautiful large circular webs with a zigzag pattern near by to gather pesky insects. If ponds or water nearby then another predator insect like damselflies will gather in small groups to binge on a large infestations. Whitefly is a big issue here this time of year and lacewings help control them or a spray of Neem oil on the plants but not directly on beneficials. Sometimes it’s a catch 22… especially in Greenhouses. In my greenhouse I really use a fogger. Great control using a fogger in my poor old greenhouse. Been using it for over 30 years . Small but handy dandy. Foggers controls thrips, whiteflies, and aphids that gather on the underside of leaves making them difficult to reach with typical spray applications. Even outside form a tent over plants infected add insecticide for flowers or beneficial insects for veggies to the fogger . Small fogger use insecticide for plants and or for adding beneficials on veggies directly on plants infected with insects. small green house.. used over 30 years.
A 30 year span for a green house is remarkable @Pacnorwest You have taken very good care of it to use it that long. Here we would have had to replace it several times over that period. Wind is a destroyer here, especially coupled with the frozen stuff. However, we are going to assemble a hoop house in a couple of weeks. It will be our first experience growing food into the fall. I'm very excited. I'm going to go get some praying mantis to employ there. My cabbage seedlings are doing OK, even in this *99f heat. My hope is that we'll be able to use the hoop house through November but I really don't know how long I can keep the plastic over it. That will depend on the ever lovin wind. @Sjoerd I've just done this. I don't have a bit of remorse over ending an aphid that's eating my food Sorry, not sorry.
My little greenhouse has gone thru many epic ice and wind storms and very sturdy attached with steel pvc wrapped pipping throughout . Screws are every few inches rubber bumpers to hold thru bad weather. This system is a good style. Arched top no snow build up and ice slides right off. It’s level as the day I put it in with my son when he was a teen it was a local kit and manufactured in Oregon.
That's incredible @Pacnorwest We're going to make our own from materials we have. My husband is a carpenter by trade. He has a huge piece of very heavy plastic. We have 1/2 inch metal poles embedded into concrete in buckets. We also have pvc pipe. So I've got to get some grandsons over to make it happen. I really missed out not doing this years ago. Life, you know? I'm so happy to be starting, even now.
It never ends. I go 2 x a day now with my trusty spray bottle. I put 1000 lady bugs on the job and only 2 stuck around. I've got to say that I'm really happy with one cabbage, the others are all marked by aphids. I do think I might be getting a little bit of a handle on them now. Thanks for your support
