FALL GARDEN PESTS

In Arizona, we get the luxury of gardening throughout the fall/winter months, while the rest of the country gets to experience “winter”. For us, the weather is great and we get to plant all sorts of delicious crops like lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and other leafy greens.

Unfortunately, as I made my rounds this morning, I noticed something out of the ordinary on my broccoli plant:

Notice the holes in the leaves

If you’re new to gardening, this is an obvious indication that you have a pest issue. The likely culprit is the cabbage looper (caterpillar). But don’t break out the pesticides. It’s an easy fix! Start checking the undersides of the leaves where the holes are.

They usually like the newer leaves in the middle section, notice there are some holes there

Flip the leaf over and see if you can find anything…

Jackpot!

Simply remove it with your finger. No, they don’t bite and no, they are not poisonous.

Dinner?

That’s pretty much it. Just check your leaves and remove them as they develop. No pesticides needed. And it’s kind of fun too!