Flappers
Well another week through and I am still pondering deeply about my Sunday night- did they model the water fountain at the Botanical gardens after a young Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins)?
“This is the gardening content people want to see,” I reassured Max as he patiently sat waiting for me to finish this post.
I think so.
It has been really nice watching the Botanic Gardens change over the years- the entrance beside this statue used to have a lot of block planting, and now they have put their eggs in lots of different baskets, after a few stressful years (when eg all of the tulips were diseased and not putting on a show, as funding has been cut more and more so they are reliant on more perennial plants).
Cabbage white? White Butterfly?
As a rule I don’t tend to plant brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kale) in Spring, because I can’t be bothered dealing with “cabbage white” butterflies. But for some reason (I think they were left over from landscaping), I have quite a few brassicas that are nowhere near ready, and the cabbage whites have arrived in force.
Annoyingly I never seem to see the butterflies- too sneaky. Here is a pic I found-
Source also note that there are differences between male and female, this one is male
Here is some damage- and a whole load of the blighters-
BUT WAIT.
These are not Cabbage White butterflies. These are Pieris rapae- White Butterflies. Did you know that Cabbage Whites, Pieris brassicae, are no longer in Aotearoa?
In 2010 the butterfly was found in Nelson, New Zealand where it is known as the great white butterfly.[3] It is classed as an unwanted pest due to the potential effect on crops.[4] For a limited period in October 2013 the Department of Conservation offered a monetary reward for the capture of the butterfly.[5] After two weeks, the public had captured 134 butterflies, netting $10 for each one handed in.[6] As a result of this and other containment measures, such as over 263,000 searches in the upper South Island and the release of predatory wasps, the large white was officially declared to be eradicated from New Zealand as of December 2014.[7]
Yep. The Cabbage white is actually this one-
And no, you have not seen those… well, if you have, contact MPI!
I’m trying to think of useful, fun information about white butterflies (sorry, but I am going to continue to call white butterflies cabbage whites- I don’t see the harm given cabbage whites no longer exist in NZ!).
Why are the holes in all sorts of places on the leaves? Well, the caterpillars feed, then move somewhere else, then feed, then move. This is why the leaves get holes all over them, horrifyingly every separate hole on your brassica is a different feeding session.
How do I find and get rid of the caterpillars? Look for em, squish em with your fingers, do this daily, and if you see little yellow eggs on the leaves, brush them off too. But I promise you that you will get tired of doing this long before you can harvest your brassica.
How do I stop the butterflies, then? You have to hide the brassicas, but honestly, that is pretty impossible. Butterflies try not to lay in overcast or rain, and even if something is planted in shady woodland, they don’t seem to bother, aiming for open sunny areas. None of this information is particularly helpful to us, you just have to create a physical barrier between the outside world and the plants with cloth.
If you think my above photos looked bad, check out my Sacrificial Kale. White butterflies love Kale above all else, so I used to plant it in the spot closest to the most open area in the garden. The butterflies swarmed the kale and left my brassicas alone (more than otherwise, at least). Here is this season’s kale-
Which is a pity, because I love kale, and it turns out chickens do not love caterpillars, so this stuff is all for the bin (jokes, I’m going to let it self seed everywhere first).
More importantly to note, we have successfully, in the past, eradicated bugs from Aotearoa. Aucklanders, please set your hornet traps…
Tasks for this week
Do a bug check on your plants. Bugs love to eat plants that are heat stressed and it has been a hot week. Look on top and under leaves. Look for shininess (a sign of aphid poo), holes and the bugs themselves.
If you find a bug and can ID it, excellent! I would suggest putting about a tablespoon of molasses in your watering can and emptying it on top of the plant’s foliage. This helps to attract predatory insects and also improves the health of the plant, which will help the plant to repel the pests.
Water your plants outside of the heat of day. If you can bear to get up early, then is your time- if not, the evening is ok, but try not to get the leaves too wet, because wet leaves invite fungal issues. Watering in the morning means that any water on the leaves will dry out in the heat of day. Watering in the evening means that water will sit on the leaves for the night, the morning and then dry out.
I hope you are having a lovely Spring, everyone!