# The Great Texas Race



## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

Spent some time in my small garden this morning watching a race I wish all the entrants would all lose! I'm talking garden pests! My broccoli is trying its best, but the constant onslaught of harlequin bugs, cabbage loopers, and now the giant grasshoppers, is taking its toll. Not sure which pest will win. I picked several of the bugs and loopers the other day, but they are now back with reinforcements. I picked at least a hundred of the pretty little bugs off my half-dozen broccoli plants, and several more off the sunflowers, but know I missed some.

So far, I haven't seen any tomato hornworms or squash beetles, but I'm sure they are only days away.

With a big garden, I was able to give up a few sacrificial plants, but with only two raised beds, diligence is mandatory, or you lose it all.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

I haven't had to much trouble so far this year. I have anti deer fencing and anti rabbit fencing (we have a lot of rabbits). I had a master gardener till me years ago to plant Marigold plants in the garden to keep insect pests away. This is my 4th year with Marigolds and it works. Tomatoes, peppers, herbs, cucumbers, have no insect damage. My Brussel Sprouts do seem to attract a leaf eating insect so I have been using Sevin on all 19 plants and it works.

I have started to store Sevin just in case, along with seeds.

BTW I grew radishes this season from 4 year old seeds that I just had laying on my bench. I could not tell the difference from seeds purchased this year.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Marigolds do work... :2thumb:

We plant them around the garden plus a few in each row.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

GaryS said:


> Spent some time in my small garden this morning watching a race I wish all the entrants would all lose! I'm talking garden pests! My broccoli is trying its best, but the constant onslaught of harlequin bugs, cabbage loopers, and now the giant grasshoppers, is taking its toll. Not sure which pest will win. I picked several of the bugs and loopers the other day, but they are now back with reinforcements. I picked at least a hundred of the pretty little bugs off my half-dozen broccoli plants, and several more off the sunflowers, but know I missed some.
> 
> So far, I haven't seen any tomato hornworms or squash beetles, but I'm sure they are only days away.
> 
> With a big garden, I was able to give up a few sacrificial plants, but with only two raised beds, diligence is mandatory, or you lose it all.


I dusted my raised bed with Diatomaceous Earth and no more stink bugs, or Japanese Beetle bugs; but I only had a few.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

If you have only a few raised beds the best bet to keep the harlequin beetles under control is to keep them picked off and break the reproductive cycle. DE is somewhat effective on them but if you only rely on it they will do a bit of damage before it kills them off. You should look down in the leaf litter when you're picking them off, they hide there when it gets sunny and hot then it seems like they just magically appear out of nowhere when it cools off.

Sulfur dust is somewhat effective but you have to be careful with it or you may burn your plants, if you have a choice between loosing the plants or using sulfur - I'd use the sulfur. It helps with squash bugs and other pests also so it may be worth checking out.

You're not too far from me, have the harlequin beetles been a recent problem? This is the second year we've had them and before that I'd never seen one,


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