The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: suziequeue on April 20, 2011, 06:51:39 am
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I planted out some lettuces the other day and they are being decimated. The leaves seem to be being bitten off at the base and then just left!!! (see lettuceleaf1 pic) - or only with a few nibbles out of them..... such a waste!!! Is it slugs?
Also - this morning it seemed that some of the decimated leaves were being pulled down into the soil (lettuceleaf 2 and 3 pics). Is this worm action?
Yesterday evening I made a start on beer traps and put some grit around the bases but this morning I came down to another decimated leaf.
What's doing this??
I have watered on some nemasys but have run out of nemaslug so I have ordered some as well as some anti-slug collars. I will fill the beer traps this evening (once I get hold of some cheap beer!!)
Is it slugs that's doing this?
Any other suggestions?
Thanks
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Certainly sounds like slugs getting the leaves - yeuk! Not sure about them being dragged down though ???
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Have you got mice? Looking at the leaves they seem to have bite marks on them.
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e have got mice but the bed is enclosed innetting which is closed round the sides. It would be quite difficult for a mouse to get in.
DH says he saw an insect of some description run out from under the leaf and dodge back into the soil earlier today
>:(
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Looks like a leaf beetle or vole. Voles will burrow as will mice. To be honest with this dry weather pests are ahead of themselves. Do you spray? I tend to grow salad stuff under glass in polystyrene fish boxes now with screened compost and usually have no problems until sparrows get a taste for the leaves. Trouble with salad crop in main beds is even netting wont keep out soil dwellers and sadly only chemicals work.
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I'm not sure about the nibbled bits. With slugs you will usually see silvery slime trails. The leaf being pulled down is classic earthworm behaviour - brilliant to have a pic of it 8) They also do this with autumn leaves - the leaf is coiled into a funnel shape then pulled down into the worm's burrow.
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It might be cutworms doing the intial damage, then worms dragging the leaves down
All the best
Sue
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so many pests, heart breaking when you have nurtured seedlings for so long and they get eaten overnight when they are planted out.
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Gosh - YES!!!!! cutworms. I have read up about them and its exactly like they say.
We have alot of moths here so it fits.
Mmmmm
There doesn't seem to be anything I can do except dig around and destroy them.
Any other suggestions?
Susanna
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I answered on the other thread, but I feel the leaves are still too green for cutworms. Have a careful dig around and see if you can find any - then let us know
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Suzie, I would still advise growing salad stuff in screened compost and containerised, all commercial lettuce is sprayed against cutworm etc hence the product on the shelf. You can do this outdoors, ok I use the fishbox method but others use old baths or any container! You are right to cover it but until you stop attack from underneath only a chemical treatment will work. This is why so many folk lose heart and the answers are fairly easy to these problems. I am not a 100% organic buff but I dont spray if theres another way. :farmer:
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Part of 'the other way' is always to grow more than you need so losses are not so important - with cutworms they come singly so once you have scratched around and found the little devil you are ok - unless there's another one :D. I have never in my life used chemicals so it's not an option for me. Some years losses can be great with some crops and you get a glut with others which are not attacked, but I always manage to have enough to feed my family really well, with chemical free food.
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Ooooh - the little bu**ers!!!
I planted out some more lettuce seedlings yesterday (Webbs Wonderful from the local garden centre) and thought I would have a bit of a dig around the rots of the decimated lettuce plants
Five of them!!!!! including one cheeky barsteward just lounging around on top - in broad daylight!!! The audacity!!!
Oooooh - they went straight to the chickens.
Then - last night I went out at about 11pm with a torch and caught another one just cruising around the leaves of the last remaining Little Gem seedling. He hadn't done any damage thank god.
I am actually quite enjoying the "battle" (I know - this is nature ..... Illl never win)
:-)
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Have a "crimes against lettuce" trial, microwave one of them in front of the others as an example. If they dont understand that they are thick and deserve to die........... :farmer:
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I keep lettuces in until they reach a good size with at least 6 leaves. When I then put them out I usually cover with water bottle cloches untilt they fill them. That seems to protect them a bit.
I was really annoyed this morning to find 2 of my freshly pricked sunflowers decapitated in the greenhouse. Slimy trail but no sign of the beast or it would have been duck dinner! >:( :&>
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Thank Northfife - really good advice. We've got loads of plastic 2 litre bottles that I've been saving for some purpose so I will put those on.
I have planted some more little gem lettuce seedlings in seedling trays in the poly tunnel so I will wait until they get to six leave before planting them out.
No damage last night :-)
Now have noticed a couple of wood pigeons in the vicinity the last couple of days so might get netting for the peas and beans :-(
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We're slowly meshing everything this year - keeps off the cabbage whites/pigeons & the naughty chucks (they were very naughty last year ;) ) shame it won't keep the blackfly or slugs away too ::)
Problem trying to keep the balance right - protecting the veg & fruit, whilst allowing the natural predators in ???
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Bee, I invested in some mesh tunnels a few years ago and would be lost without them now, a grand invention!
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was looking at some today. Unfortunately our current veg patch is on quite a slope but the new one we've got planned is much flatter - then I'm going to get big net cages
:D :D :D
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They will work on slopes too!!!!!!!!!
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I answered on the other thread, but I feel the leaves are still too green for cutworms. Have a careful dig around and see if you can find any - then let us know
Go out at night with a torch and you will see what is going on in your vegi patches