Diseases & Pests
Slugs and snails – Sprinkle broken eggshells around plants to deter.
Cabbage aphids – A hard stream of water can be used to remove aphids from plants early in the day.
Cabbage root maggot – White maggot larvae feed on roots of plants. Damage causes wilting early on, and the death of plants later on.
Flea Beetles – Use row covers to help protect plants from early damage. Put in place at planting and remove before temperatures get too hot in midsummer. Control weeds. Nematodes feed on the larvae of these pests.
Cutworms – Control weeds. Cardboard collars around each plant give good protection.
Cabbageworms – Hand-pick and destroy. Row covers may be useful on small plantings to help protect plants from early damage.
Clubroot: If soil is infested, add lime to raise pH of soil to 7.2. Locate plants in a part of the garden different from previous year’s location. If that is not possible, remove infested soil and replace with fresh soil. Start seeds in sterile potting mix or fresh ground. Remove and discard or destroy infested plants along with the surrounding soil and soil clinging to roots.