Hi welcome to asiangarden2table.
Today we are dealing with little caterpillars.
Please skip this if you are uncomfortable for killing caterpillars.
One of the serious pest problems in vegetable garden is caterpillar.
It happens several times a year.
They propagate fast, spread widely and develop resistance to pesticide easily.
For back yard gardening, we want to use minimum or no pesticide.
Then what can we do to control caterpillar problem?
My method is to pop them on site, not just capture them.
Long time ago I searched for organic pesticide formulas.
There was a strange one caught my attention: pumpkin leaves and some caterpillars,
blend them to get the juice to spray on vegetables.
I couldn’t understand how it worked.
This formulas is not poisonous, nor irritating.
Later I read some articles, said when bugs get attacked or killed, they release some chemicals
to warn their fellows to stay away from danger, which makes sense.
Well I did not use the formulas because it is time consuming to make the juice and apply it
I put hands on the caterpillars directly.
Yes, I popped them on site.
With some skills, I can target them easily and fast, without wasting much time.
By controlling caterpillars at very early stage, they can be gotten ride off easily,
and do not came back for long time.
This is why I have not used any pesticide in my garden for the last few years
and there is no obvious warms problem in my garden.
The earlier you find caterpillar, the faster you take action, the easier to control them.
How can we find caterpillars?
The best time is when there is bright sun.
Caterpillar usually is hiding and not moving around.
It is easier to find their hiding spots.
The place with caterpillar bites.
We see holes on the leaf.
Turn it over.
See them?
Young shoots are caterpillar’s favorite place.
Young leaves turn yellow and curly.
Pay attention.
See them?
Wrinkle on the leaf, roll-up at the edge, two leaves stick together?
Usually caterpillars are hiding inside.
No need to open and look.
Pinch the leaf and pop them.
Caterpillar’s poops indicate they are nearby.
Find them.
Put gloves on if you don’t feel comfortable to touch caterpillar.
To film clearly I am using bare hand.
This is the look of a healthy leaf.
This is a healthy young shoot.
The week after spotting caterpillar is critical.
Spend several minutes every day and check carefully.
You will see caterpillars get less and less.
Try to not let them grow into moths or you will have to deal with next generation.
OK till now do you feel like it is time-consuming and mission impossible?
To make manual removing caterpillar more efficient, we should prune our vegetables properly.
Remove un-necessary vines and old leaves because caterpillar like them.
Let us do a math here.
A strong pumpkin vine can fruit 1~2 fruits, about 8 leaves are enough to support the fruiting.
It takes about 10 seconds to check a leaf.
About 1 minute for a vine.
This row has a little over 10 vines.
It actually takes me less than 10 minutes to finish checking them each time because
not every leaf has caterpillars.
After all this been said, I can understand if some people feel uncomfortable
and think this method is cruel.
But this method is far better than letting caterpillar eat up all your hard work;
better than killing all the good and bad bugs in your garden with pesticide,
better than feeding your family with vegetables sprayed with pesticide.
This method is important and it works.
Give it a try if you can.
This is all for today.
If you like our videos, please give us a thumb-up,
subscribe to our channel and share with your friends.
You can also visit our website at asiangarden2table.com to purchase vegetable seed.
Thank you very much.
I will see you next time.