I'm already looking ahead to the 2011 outdoor season! Last year I had planted a few bag-seeds and got 3 females to sprout. Everything was going GREAT until about the beginning of Sept, when I noticed some chunks of bud rotting... Turned out to be caterpillars. I had a BAD infestation and they all but ruined two of my ladies, and did some serious damage to the third. I was able to salvage a harvest, although nowhere near what it should have been....... So my question is, obviously... How do I avoid this happening next year? I was considering building a small greenhouse, but I'm not sure that would help keep these little bastards out.
I grow indoors, so no caterpillar problems. In my vegetable garden, however, I use BT (Bacillus thurengensius- or something like that). It is a disease of insects that shuts down their guts- so they starve. BT is nontoxic to humans and just about everything, except plant-eating bugs! It washes off with rain and must be reapplied after a shower. This means it can be washed off of plants before harvest. You can get it at any garden shop, or even hardware stores. Granny
Thanks a lot for your reply Granny! BT is used to get rid of caterpillars (garden pests) once you already have a problem, yes? I was wondering if there's anything I can do to prevent them in the first place???