small green worms on my brussel sprouts

[I & H Prees]

Pardon if this has been asked before but I'm a newbie (both to vegetable gardening and this newsgroup). I planted brussel sprouts for the first time in my Massachusetts garden this year. The seedlings I started inside didn't transplant well nor did many of the seeds I sowed directly take hold in the garden. I only have about three plants growing. And now the leaves are covered with holes and I'm finding inch-long smooth green worms on them. They don't seem to be on any of my other vegetables or herbs. I try not to use any pesticides on my small garden but I'd like to have my kids see at least one impressive brussel sprout stalk grow to maturity...any suggestions for non-chemical/pesticide deterrents for these pests? Also advice on getting brussel sprouts to grow in the first place

Thanks

-Holly

[Tim Morton]

Sounds like cabbage loopers to me... they tore up my broccoli this year. They were my "sacrificial" plants, and the rest of the garden did fine. Organic Gardening has this write up on possible solutions

another link that may be of some help luck tim

[Steve]

Just as likely it could be imported cabbage worms. It doesn't matter, the treatment is the same. BT works wonders. I have much better results with a form that you mix with water and spray on. (I use Dipel.) In the mean time, pick off all that you can find because they can destroy the entire plant if left alone.

[someone]

vegetable

Don't know if you've noticed any white butterflies around, but if you have, they're called cabbage whites here in U.K. They lay eggs on the underside of any brassica leaves (cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts), these hatch into either all-green or green/white striped 1" caterpillars, and eat all of your crop.

Kill them. I'm an organic gardener so I do it by hand, leaf by leaf, dropping the caterpillars into a pail of soap and water. Birds won't even eat the caterpillars because they smell so bad (having eaten cabbage). If you look on the underside of the leaves, you might see a small yellow egg, or even a small group of eggs. Rub them off.

One tip about growing brussels sprouts that I only found out about recently: they like to have thick soil around their roots, so get out there with your gumboots and trample the plants in. If they grow in loose earth, they don't produce tightly-bunched sprouts, they produce sort of loose, cabbage-like things. Sounds like they prefer a more clay-ey soil.

HTH, s.

vegetable