Hi, folks,

Gardening in San Jose, California -- USDA Zone 9b, Sunset Zone 16.

I started carrot and coriander seedlings about three weeks ago, for the
winter. My coriander seedlings were about 2 cm high, and had put out
their first true leaves. The carrot seedlings were a bit smaller, but
coming along nicely.

Some time yesterday -- I am not sure whether it was during the day, or
at night -- something came along and munched every last carrot and
coriander seedling to the ground. My nearby lentils, green onions, and
mature carrots (I'm growing some more carrots, for seed) were
untouched.

I have occasional problems with snails, but I haven't seen any for
several weeks. I also do not see any slime trails in the vicinity of
my vegetable garden. I have never seen evidence of any burrowing
animals in my yard. The nearby park has ground squirrels and gophers,
but they would have to tunnel under several roads to get here.

Who are my likely suspects, and how do I discourage them?

Thanks for your advice!


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On 9 Nov 2006 09:02:34 -0800, "John Ladasky"
wrote:

:Hi, folks,
:
:Gardening in San Jose, California -- USDA Zone 9b, Sunset Zone 16.
:
:I started carrot and coriander seedlings about three weeks ago, for the
:winter. My coriander seedlings were about 2 cm high, and had put out
:their first true leaves. The carrot seedlings were a bit smaller, but
:coming along nicely.
:
:Some time yesterday -- I am not sure whether it was during the day, or
:at night -- something came along and munched every last carrot and
:coriander seedling to the ground. My nearby lentils, green onions, and
:mature carrots (I'm growing some more carrots, for seed) were
:untouched.
:
:I have occasional problems with snails, but I haven't seen any for
:several weeks. I also do not see any slime trails in the vicinity of
:my vegetable garden. I have never seen evidence of any burrowing
:animals in my yard. The nearby park has ground squirrels and gophers,
:but they would have to tunnel under several roads to get here.
:
:Who are my likely suspects, and how do I discourage them?
:
:Thanks for your advice!

I don't know, but wouldn't rule out birds. I believe they've victimized
me on occasion. You might try putting little cages or supporting some
chicken wire over your seedlings. It's worked for me.

On Nov 9, 12:02 pm, "John Ladasky" wrote:

Some time yesterday -- I am not sure whether it was during the day, or
at night -- something came along and munched every last carrot and
coriander seedling to the ground. My nearby lentils, green onions, and
mature carrots (I'm growing some more carrots, for seed) were
untouched.


I vote for birds as well. They eat seedlings for the moisture, not
really for food. I have had success putting out a pan of water one
month before planting seedlings. It takes them time to adapt to the new
source of water. With the water in the garden, they are there often,
and eat quite a bit of cabbage worms, so you want them there, just not
thirsty. I also experimented with taking the water away. They
disappeared, and the cabbages started getting ragged.

simy1 wrote:
On Nov 9, 12:02 pm, "John Ladasky" wrote:

Some time yesterday -- I am not sure whether it was during the day, or
at night -- something came along and munched every last carrot and
coriander seedling to the ground. My nearby lentils, green onions, and
mature carrots (I'm growing some more carrots, for seed) were
untouched.


I vote for birds as well. They eat seedlings for the moisture, not
really for food. I have had success putting out a pan of water one
month before planting seedlings. It takes them time to adapt to the new
source of water. With the water in the garden, they are there often,
and eat quite a bit of cabbage worms, so you want them there, just not
thirsty. I also experimented with taking the water away. They
disappeared, and the cabbages started getting ragged.

Also in the San Jose area....
it's probably earwigs, particularly since they ate the seedlings and
not the other plants. Try planting your seeds in pots then
transplanting once they are bigger. I reuse the 6 pack containers, and
transfer to larger pots if I'm still nervous about survival.

Good luck,
Susan B.

"sueb" wrote in message
oups.com...

simy1 wrote:
On Nov 9, 12:02 pm, "John Ladasky" wrote:

Some time yesterday -- I am not sure whether it was during the day, or
at night -- something came along and munched every last carrot and
coriander seedling to the ground. My nearby lentils, green onions, and
mature carrots (I'm growing some more carrots, for seed) were
untouched.


I vote for birds as well. They eat seedlings for the moisture, not
really for food. I have had success putting out a pan of water one
month before planting seedlings. It takes them time to adapt to the new
source of water. With the water in the garden, they are there often,
and eat quite a bit of cabbage worms, so you want them there, just not
thirsty. I also experimented with taking the water away. They
disappeared, and the cabbages started getting ragged.

Also in the San Jose area....
it's probably earwigs, particularly since they ate the seedlings and
not the other plants. Try planting your seeds in pots then
transplanting once they are bigger. I reuse the 6 pack containers, and
transfer to larger pots if I'm still nervous about survival.

Also in SJ! My biggest problems are with snails. They can wipe out
a lot of plants in a short time. I use Sluggo because it's safe for pets.
My coriander/cilantro plants have had no problems but my pumpkin
seedlings are history. Good luck!
CareWren

John,
another suspect you could add to your list are pill bugs, aka
roly-polies, wood louse. I have had trouble with them eating seedling.
The problem is that I have read that they are monogamous and raise their
young! These damn bugs are more virtuous than many people I know.

Try growing your plants in pots until they have some real wood in them.

Good luck with the moral dilemma.

Bill

Coloribus gustibus non disputatun

In article .com,
"John Ladasky" wrote:

Hi, folks,

Gardening in San Jose, California -- USDA Zone 9b, Sunset Zone 16.

I started carrot and coriander seedlings about three weeks ago, for the
winter. My coriander seedlings were about 2 cm high, and had put out
their first true leaves. The carrot seedlings were a bit smaller, but
coming along nicely.

Some time yesterday -- I am not sure whether it was during the day, or
at night -- something came along and munched every last carrot and
coriander seedling to the ground. My nearby lentils, green onions, and
mature carrots (I'm growing some more carrots, for seed) were
untouched.

I have occasional problems with snails, but I haven't seen any for
several weeks. I also do not see any slime trails in the vicinity of
my vegetable garden. I have never seen evidence of any burrowing
animals in my yard. The nearby park has ground squirrels and gophers,
but they would have to tunnel under several roads to get here.

Who are my likely suspects, and how do I discourage them?

Thanks for your advice!


+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
| Ladasky Home Solar, Inc.: blowing sunshine up your |
| power grid since March 24, 2005. Fiat lux! |
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
| Uptime Downtime kWh generated kWh consumed |
| 591 days 6.5 hours 11028 11105 |
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+

Thanks for your replies, everyone!

I agree with Dan Musicant and simy1 that birds are the most likely
culprits. The green parts of the seedlings were cleanly sheared off,
as you might expect if a bird had bitten them with its beak. The soil
was completely undisturbed. I don't see either snails or earwigs
anywhere nearby. I have a few pill bugs hiding under some plants about
forty feet away from the vegetable garden, but I can't imagine them
going so far to forage.

I have made a point to encourage the presence of birds in my yard with
certain plants, but I forgot about providing water. My wife and I are
planning a small backyard fountain. Once that goes in, I hope that
we'll have no further trouble. The winter rains have started, so the
birds should have the moisture they need for several months.

Thankfully, the benign California winter climate means that I can try
to sprout seedlings again. I'll try starting seedlings in containers,
as suggested by sueb and Bill Rose. Row covers as suggested by Dan
would probably also work, but I already have blister packs at hand. It
seems a bit strange, starting annual plants with deep taproots in
containers, but I have a reference which says it should work
(_California_Vegetable_Patch_ by Karen and Duane Newcomb).

Happy gardening to all of you.

+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
| Ladasky Home Solar, Inc.: blowing sunshine up your |
| power grid since March 24, 2005. Fiat lux! |
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
| Uptime Downtime kWh generated kWh consumed |
| 612 days 6.5 hours 11244 11501 |
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+