as our space is usually limited and i can't
cook it anyways we've never actually grown
cabbages before this year. the difference
this year is someone we know who makes
saurkraut and Ma wanting to do something
nice for them. we put in 12 plants.

of the 12, 1 is decidedly different in
leaf shape and i doubt it will be a cabbage
at all. 1 other is much smaller than the
others, but that is because it is shaded in
the afternoon for a few hours. it is still
green and growing fine.

the cabbage butterfly/worms are doing a
lot of damage. today i went out to pick
them off and then i sprayed the plants down
to rinse off all the green poop they left
behind. this way when i go out again to find
more worms i'll be able to see if any new
piles are showing up.

as i've not really cared much about the
white butterflies before to pay attention to
their life cycle i figured i could ask the
experts here about them.

i'm assuming that as long as they are
flying around they are capable of laying
eggs. so the quest of picking worms off
will likely be until i stop seeing them
flying around.

as to specific questions, do they ever
give up? or can they have more than one
generation per season?

the cabbage is getting a more compact
inner set of leaves now, do the worms keep
burrowing in or will the plant be able to
form a head anyways if i ignore them? it
looks like it can be hard to get all the
worms off of those inner leaves without
breaking them off.

when the worms are done where do they
hibernate/pupate?

i had a nice handful of them today and
put them in soapy water to drown them. poor
guys.

yes, i know i can google all of this, but
it's fun to also be able to talk to people
about their experiences.

as for control, hand picking seems to be the
only option as i don't spray anything other
than water on the plants. if there are other
ways of controlling them (bugs to encourage
other than praying mantis or birds that will
eat them or the butterflies, etc.) i'll be
interested in hearing your experiences with
what you've attempted and what's worked the
best.

thanks!


songbird