Last year, we didn't plant any real cold weather crops but this year we thought we would give it a try. We planted cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, and brussel sprouts in hopes we would get some more variety in our harvest. A few weeks ago, we noticed something on our cabbage and brussel sprouts that turned out to be aphids. We sprayed them, they died, they came back, and we repeated our process. Our plants were big and tightly spaced, so much to the point that we couldn't seem to treat all of the plants like we needed to. We were able to salvage the cabbage, managing to keep the aphids off of the heads and keeping the leaves drenched in insecticidal soap. The brussel sprouts were a different story. Today, we cut the cabbage, and pulled all of the sprouts and had to throw them away. Fortunately, we saved 5 large heads of non-infested cabbage, which increased our harvest total another 14 pounds.
I recently found this blog through an article posted on Grist. I like the idea behind this project and look forward to reading more of these threads about the experiences that have come out of this project. When I heard about the aphid problem, it reminded me about learning why aphids are attracted to various plants and ways to avoid this situation. I have been impressed with the advice by a company called International Ag Labs. If you have a chance, check out their website (http://www.aglabs.com) and if you like what you see contact them for more info.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your endeavors! I hope this project grows and inspires more like it around the country.