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Writer's pictureBonny Faulkner-Hollis-Alexander

The caterpillar stage...

Good day to you, my fellow gardeners.

I want to applaud you for being a grower of food! Congratulations on considering your health. Here is a great way to continue that journey with many who have joined the 'Food Revolution' Click here to download your free guidebook, Eat to Defeat Cancer: 10 Superfoods That Nourish Every Cell.


Caterpillar control info, coming below...


One very good reason why we grow our own food! I fully support commercial food production but I do not support poorly thought-out design controls. https://niwa.co.nz/news/running-off-the-road

Nothing bugs me more than seeing my broccoli being munched by caterpillars! Luckily I know a couple of tricks...


- Aside from manually picking them off, which is an effective natural way to grow, if you have the time. And a cover cloth can also help, but not so great when the light is needed on these grey days.


Leafy greens are the best option to grow for nutritional benefit, so please keep trying, you will find some things work and some don't. I always go for more diversity instead of single crops of brassicas. This way, you can always harvest at least a salad, think; dandelion, calendula, pineapple sage, rocket, beetroot, chives, mint, celery, parsley, radish, chard, Kumara, etc. all of these amount to great salad ingredients!

Oh, and of course, lettuce ;)


- Now for the bullet in the back of the cute caterpillar, eek! Mix 2.5gm (1 teaspoon) Bacillus thuringiensis & 2ml (1/2 teaspoon) Naturally Neem insecticide with 1 liter of water - this spray can be used as frequently as you like. If you avoid using the N/N insecticide, you will not control the insects that lay the caterpillar in the first place.


How does Bt work? Spores made by Bt damage the gut of insect larvae after the larvae eat them. The insect gut must have a pH of 9.0 to 10.5 (high pH) in order to activate the toxin. This differs from the human gut, which has a low pH and is more acidic. The activated toxin breaks down the insect’s gut lining. The insect larva dies of infection and starvation. Death occurs within 1-5 days. Young insect larvae are most affected.


So, get yourselves some now! Click this link, will take you to the shop; thanks.







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