Re: Pest Control
BT is pest-specific, so when you go to buy it, make sure it says cabbage worms on the label. You can buy other forms of BT for other pests, so read the label carefully.
Whatever you do, NEVER use rotenone for pest control, even though it IS legitimately organic (it's the dried and ground root of a tropical plant). Rotenone is one of those natural poisons that is WORSE than its synthetic counterparts. Don't ever use it.
Yes, it's true about the worms on broccoli – you really can't find them all when you're washing it. They're exactly the same shade of green and they hide up in the florets, too. The only way to grow clean broccoli is to use a floating cover, BT or chemicals.
I've got a handy dandy spray bottle that can spray upside down, which makes spraying the undersides of the leaves a LOT easier.
Read the BT label carefully. You can't keep mixed solution around; only mix what you can use immediately. Spray everything in the cabbage family – broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage (of course), etc.
We don't use DE here because we don't have any of the pests that it's effective against. Cabbage worm eggs are laid directly on the undersides of the leaves and the worms never touch the ground; since DE wouldn't stick to the leaves (I assume) and the worms never touch the ground, I don't imagine it's effective against cabbage worms specifically.
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