A lot of people don't like garden chores. I like weeding for the most part. It is either a very meditative chore or I do it with my headphones on and listen to audio stories. Either way it is enjoyable - at least when the weather is nice. I don't mind digging the beds. Even double digging the beds means that I will have gotten my exercise for the day and done something useful to boot. I pretty much like all the aspects of gardening. Except one.
This is a most unpleasant task as the earwigs eat right through the cabbage. Unlike slugs that tend to stay toward the outside, earwigs can work their way to the middle if given the time. And they really try. Earwigs give me the heebee jeebees. And as I peeled each layer off I found more. Ick. This year the earwigs were much worse than last year. But I've really only seen them in the Chinese cabbages. I hope they don't get anywhere else. One year earwigs at all the silks off off my corn. Now that would be a tragedy.
Of the four Napa cabbage I only got one small head and two half tiny tiny heads. One was a total loss. Michihili doesn't have tight heads like the Napa. Also unlike the Napa they don't eat the rib parts. So I cut all the green parts off and washed the ribs down well. To me the ribs are the best part of the cabbage. The last Michihili was over 5 lbs. The harvestable parts of this one barely made it past 2. So sad. As it is I probably lost about 10 pounds of cabbage. Which is sad, but not the end of the world. My husband was noticing that my yearly totals haven't been as good as this time last year. This is very true. I'm not too worried though. I still can't eat it all. It just means I won't have as much to give away. I think my townhouse mates aren't getting any Chinese cabbage this year. Sorry guys.
Too bad :(
ReplyDeletebtw, what is your plan to control the earwigs?
I have none. Some years they are bad. Some years they are not. Most things they leave alone. They are omnivores too so they can eat things like aphids. So they aren't all bad. But for some reason they really love my Chinese cabbage.
DeleteI bet you were planting the best Chinese cabbage in Boston, then :)
DeleteUgh, earwigs are so gross! Last week, I went to grab some of my red leaf lettuce, and the entire plant was completely infested with earwigs. Do you know of any good methods for getting rid of earwigs?
ReplyDeleteSadly no. You can make traps for them, but I never found they worked all that well.
DeleteEarwigs are eating my pole beans and the lower leaves of many of my flowers, and I was shaking them out of the lettuce I picked today. I'm finding aphids on the lettuce too, which is the first time that's happened. I also have one entire bed of bush beans with leaf miner damage, while a nearby bed and the pole beans are untouched so far (knock on wood).
ReplyDeleteI am thankful I have never seen earwigs in our garden. Not yet, at least. I am reminded I had never seen a Harlequin bug until about 5 years ago, and now they are a real pest on our brassicas. They were even on the overwintered kale this year, though they really seem to like broccoli plants.
ReplyDeleteIck is right, big ick! I can't stand earwigs either and they did a number on my napa cabbage as well this year. i find them in my lettuce as well, but they don't do as much damage. Other than that they aren't much of a problem.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for your loss but like you say you will still eat. Something is eating my things here and there too. Don't know what it is. The joys of gardening I guess! So far the cover on my cabbage seem to be keeping them well. So far........ Nancy
ReplyDeleteI've found that a weekly spray of Neem oil works really well on earwigs. I have the traps, but have never used them. Anna
ReplyDeleteIf you soak the affected vegetable in salt water for ten minutes or so, all the bugs will curl up and die, and fall off. Which makes cleaning a little easier. Bad luck! A sad day in the garden to meet with such terrible devastation. Although it's extraordinary that the cabbages right next to it seem to be fine.
ReplyDeleteIck! Earwigs give me the creeps too. I can't grow broccoli unless I use a row cover to protect it from cabbage worms. But when I do, earwigs seem to find it a nice place to live.
ReplyDeleteWhat pesky earwigs! It's such a pain when you have flourishing, carefully tended plants that suddenly get attacked isn't it. It's pigeons here that I have to protect all my brassicas from, even the kohl rabi were under attack when I planted out and forgot to cover for a few hours. I like your relaxed approach though - I try to keep calm and think, oh well, as well as there's enough for us to eat. My patience failed when a squirrel once ate every single strawberry when they were still green though!
ReplyDeleteWhat a bummer. Sometimes these things just sneek past you. My biggest threats to my cabbages are chooks and aphids.
ReplyDeleteI all can say is I'm sooo happy we don't have earwigs here. We only have nasty grasshoppers but they leave some food for us. They really did a number on your cabbages :/
ReplyDeleteI'm not too fond of earwigs either, and fortunately like you I only ever find them in Chinese Cabbages but it is still very annoying. Glad you got the task done and had a bit of cabbage at the end of it.
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame! Earwigs don't seem to be very bad in my garden this year. Seems if we have a normal winter it takes care of the majority of them.
ReplyDeleteI use Sluggo for snails and it is very effective and safe. They have a new product called Sluggo Plus that adds spinosad and is supposed to treat earwigs and pill bugs. I haven't used it but you might consider it just for your cabbages.
ReplyDeleteThis may explain my tattered looking fun jen!
ReplyDelete