Hi! Tom, Sounds like you have White Cabbage Butterfly. Usually made much worse if Canola is grown in the area as it breeds up to huge numbers when it is around the flowering stage.
There are several ways to fix the wee beastie. Any of the methods that use the pest in some form will do. This includes making Steiner type peppers, Homoeopathy, fermenting it and making a spray etc. The quickest thing to try is:- Collect 50 caterpillars and crush with the back of a spoon in the curve of a dinner plate until you have crushed beast and juice. Place in a "trigger pack" or similar hand operated sprayer, with mostly filled with water, preferable rain water or other clean source. Shake well. Let stand while you have a cupper to allow the solid to settle and spray on the effected plants and any likely future targets. Also spray into the air, including making the boundary of the area that you want to exclude them from. When I did this, you could barely see across the garden and each plant had fifty to a hundred caterpillars. Next day, only a few Butterflies and a decrease in caterpillars. In four days only od butterfly and only a few caterpillars. The preferred method is to allow the brew to ferment for twenty four hours before use, but it worked raw for me. I am sure you have instructions for making peppers etc, If not ask and some one will tell you. Gil Port Lincoln Australia bdnow wrote: > > > >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >From: Thomas Schley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Subject: Cabbage Worm > >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" > > > >Can anyone help me with what I think is cabbage worm? My kale leaves > >are full of holes. Could the white butterfly with dark dots on its > >wings I see flying around be the cabbage worm? > > > >I tried spraying with 24 hour nettle tea as suggested by the Oregon > >BD Assoc. website. It hasn't helped yet. A neighbour says I can > >borrow some of his BT to spray on. He says it is completely organic. > >My question is, is its use allowed for certified BDers? I would > >rather stick with the nettle tea until I know more about it and how > >it could upset things in my garden. > > > >Thanks, Tom
