I currently live in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. I have just started, or rather well on the way to having, a good garden on the go.

Managed to get toms to start, peas, beans, corn, zucchini, cabbage etc. It's looking promising.

I have two questions. Some of the plants in the garden have started to be eaten. The swiss chard and beans in particular. They have small holes over the leaves but I am unable to see any evidence of slugs or snails. There are quite a few woodlouse hanging around. Could this be the issue? I can't actually see anything eating them and things like the cabbage and some (some!?) of the sunflowers have remained unscathed. The peas are also fine.

Any ideas what this could be?

Secondly, I have always grown chillis from seed in the house then had them growin in window boxes in the past (I am originally from the UK and they did fine in London!).

I have now started to grow them here, but they get going and then something chops the tops off the seedlings! I did have aphids in the house on some house plants but I am dealing with these now.

Again, I can't see the culprit but I put them outside this morning in order to get them some good sun and they were fine. A couple of hours later and one of the seedlings has lost its top and the other has a half eaten leaf!

What is it!?

Any suggestions gratefully received.

GJCLAYTON

In article ,
gjclayton wrote:

I currently live in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. I have
just started, or rather well on the way to having, a good garden on the
go.

Managed to get toms to start, peas, beans, corn, zucchini, cabbage etc.
It's looking promising.

I have two questions. Some of the plants in the garden have started to
be eaten. The swiss chard and beans in particular. They have small holes
over the leaves but I am unable to see any evidence of slugs or snails.
There are quite a few woodlouse hanging around. Could this be the issue?
I can't actually see anything eating them and things like the cabbage
and some (some!?) of the sunflowers have remained unscathed. The peas
are also fine.

Any ideas what this could be?

Secondly, I have always grown chillis from seed in the house then had
them growin in window boxes in the past (I am originally from the UK and
they did fine in London!).

I have now started to grow them here, but they get going and then
something chops the tops off the seedlings! I did have aphids in the
house on some house plants but I am dealing with these now.

Again, I can't see the culprit but I put them outside this morning in
order to get them some good sun and they were fine. A couple of hours
later and one of the seedlings has lost its top and the other has a half
eaten leaf!

What is it!?

Any suggestions gratefully received.

GJCLAYTON

If it's slugs or snails, there should be a shiny trail of slime where
they have been. If it is possible that it is gastropods, get non-toxic
snail bail that contains iron-phosphate (ferric-phosphate).
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

gjclayton wrote:
I currently live in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. I have
just started, or rather well on the way to having, a good garden on the
go.

Managed to get toms to start, peas, beans, corn, zucchini, cabbage etc.
It's looking promising.

I have two questions. Some of the plants in the garden have started to
be eaten. The swiss chard and beans in particular. They have small holes
over the leaves but I am unable to see any evidence of slugs or snails.
There are quite a few woodlouse hanging around. Could this be the issue?
I can't actually see anything eating them and things like the cabbage
and some (some!?) of the sunflowers have remained unscathed. The peas
are also fine.

Any ideas what this could be?

Secondly, I have always grown chillis from seed in the house then had
them growin in window boxes in the past (I am originally from the UK and
they did fine in London!).

I have now started to grow them here, but they get going and then
something chops the tops off the seedlings! I did have aphids in the
house on some house plants but I am dealing with these now.

Again, I can't see the culprit but I put them outside this morning in
order to get them some good sun and they were fine. A couple of hours
later and one of the seedlings has lost its top and the other has a half
eaten leaf!

What is it!?

Any suggestions gratefully received.

GJCLAYTON






It could be cutworms, or rabbits. Last year a rabbit topped all of my
little pepper plants.

Where are they getting cut off (ground level, or a couple of inches
high?) Is the top laying on the ground next to the stump or is it gone?

Bob

In article , gjclayton.686f506
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...

I currently live in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. I have
just started, or rather well on the way to having, a good garden on the
go.

Managed to get toms to start, peas, beans, corn, zucchini, cabbage etc.
It's looking promising.

I have two questions. Some of the plants in the garden have started to
be eaten. The swiss chard and beans in particular. They have small holes

Sounds like flea beetles.

Thanks for all of your responses.

As for the outdoor plants: Swiss Chard, Beans etc... They have been eaten by something which isn't leaving any signs except for the holes. There are no trails, or sightings of any beasties except for the holes. As I mentioned there are a lot of woodlouse wandering around, the odd earwig, apart from that I can't see anything. Its not a major issue as I think that they are growing fine regardless.
Do you think that this will impede the growth?

As for the chillis. They are being overnighted inside, near the plants that have had greenfly/aphids in the past (although I "think" I got rid of them). Then I put them outside and they got eaten right at the top of the stem. As if the leaves were the only thing that went. They are tiny (about 1cm high) and some are fine. There was a slight ball of ooze on the top of the stem after it had its leaves dispatched, this may have been the plants own liquids gushing out!

Anyway, they were placed in their pot on a low wall and got eaten within the hr!

Thanks again for your responses.

G

In article ,
phorbin wrote:

In article , gjclayton.6879dc7
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...

Thanks for all of your responses.

As for the outdoor plants: Swiss Chard, Beans etc... They have been
eaten by something which isn't leaving any signs except for the holes.
There are no trails, or sightings of any beasties except for the holes.
As I mentioned there are a lot of woodlouse wandering around, the odd
earwig, apart from that I can't see anything. Its not a major issue as I
think that they are growing fine regardless.
Do you think that this will impede the growth?

Is this what you are talking about?

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/rhodcv/hort410/8001.jpg

If so, it's flea beetle damage... and for the most part you won't see
them. They're tiny and quick.

We've had a lot of damage from these suckers over the years. The little
buggers here like chard, spinach and beets over everything else.

Got me thinking of a trap crop.

http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/...rev.en.36.0101
91.001003

http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/veg/htms/directptc.htm

http://www.google.com/search?client=...+trap+crop&ie=
UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden
What use one more wake up call?
http://ocg6.marine.usf.edu/~liu/Drif...atest_roms.htm

In article , gjclayton.6879dc7
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...

Thanks for all of your responses.

As for the outdoor plants: Swiss Chard, Beans etc... They have been
eaten by something which isn't leaving any signs except for the holes.
There are no trails, or sightings of any beasties except for the holes.
As I mentioned there are a lot of woodlouse wandering around, the odd
earwig, apart from that I can't see anything. Its not a major issue as I
think that they are growing fine regardless.
Do you think that this will impede the growth?

Is this what you are talking about?

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/rhodcv/hort410/8001.jpg

If so, it's flea beetle damage... and for the most part you won't see
them. They're tiny and quick.

We've had a lot of damage from these suckers over the years. The little
buggers here like chard, spinach and beets over everything else.

Thanks for this again.

I will take some photos and put them up because it doesnt look like this.

It's much larger. I would say, more like slug damage, but without the tell tale signs.

I'll get on that now and post asap.

GJC

Thanks for all the advice.

I think it is fine for now.

It was aphids and/or green fly eating the seedlings. They have been dispatched...

Not sure whats eating the plants outside but its not descimating them so I'll just keep an eye on it for now.

Thanks again,

G

A couple of hours
later and one of the seedlings has lost its top and the other has a half
eaten leaf!

What is it!?

Any suggestions gratefully received.

GJCLAYTON

--
gjclayton

I grow chile almost exclusively, and see this in my garden too, but
only a few plants out of a couple hundred. What I think is going on
for me is the small plants get insects on them and the flickers peck
the plants trying to get the insects. I see them in the rows all the
time early in the season. As the plants get bigger and woodier the
flickers are replaced by robins, who appear to be experts at finding
those grotesque translucent grubs with the red heads that are buried
shallow around the plants. In the Fall it's various wrens looking for
grass seed. (I've seen no unladen swallows...)

sa