Yeka Sorokina

Aaron Pate wrote:Maybe with our basil, the time between cutting and sticking in a vase is to blame. I imagine temperature, humidity, and age of the plant could affect the stem, too.

The last set of cuttings were in water within less than half an hour. However, it may require an even shorter time interval. The plant is definitely older and some of the leaves are starting to develop black spots, so it's not as healthy as it was. But I will try making cuttings as Anne is suggesting and see if they will grow roots.

Anne Miller wrote:did you cut about 1/4 inch below a leaf nodule for the second cutting?

I do not recall and I no longer have the sprigs to verify. However, I did not know that where the cut is made in relationship to the leaf nodes was linked to root growth. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I did a quick search online and it seems that cutting right around the leaf node is a good place for encouraging root growth. Is that accurate?

Hello Everyone

I am growing basil for the first time. I picked a few sprigs several weeks ago and put them in a glass of water. They sent out roots and held up wonderfully for weeks. When I ate them weeks later, they were as fresh as the day I picked them. I was delighted with this! However, the next batch I picked wilted the by the end of the following day even though their stem ends were well submerged in water. And they never sent out roots. What would account for this difference?

Thank you

Has anyone used cornmeal and baking soda to successfully get rid of voles?

Hello Everyone

Some people mentioned in their reply using a cornmeal and baking soda mix to kill voles. How well does this approach work?

Thank you!

Nancy Reading wrote:Another thing that can help is giving them something else to eat.  If they are striped armyworms, from the link Anna gave, they seem to eat a wide variety of plants, then a) your plants have a better chance of being missed and b) their predators may turn up and deal with them and the next generation for you.

I've noticed that the weeds were getting eaten too, so now I stopped weeding so meticulously and hopefully they will fill up on things besides my veggies.

Tereza Okava wrote:those kinds of worms, a physical barrier (toilet paper roll, or even a net over a garden bed) can help.

I am trying the physical barrier method. Started yesterday, so far no losses.

"Are you in the United States?  It could be the Yellowstriped Armyworm.  https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/yellowstriped-armyworm"

I've encountered quite a number of pupa in the soil that look like that.

Hello Everyone

I will include photos of my decimated veggies and the caterpillar. For the last 3 weeks I have been coming to find many of my carrots and kale cut at the base with the top just laying there and many just eaten. Most of the damage seemed to have been occurring at night. Today I found this caterpillar eating one of the carrot plants. What is the likelihood that this type of caterpillar has been causing most of the damage? Or I just happened to have caught this one in action, but he is one of a whole variety of bugs eating the plants? What type of caterpillar is this? And finally, what suggestions do people have that could assist me in allowing my veggies to grow to harvest time?

Thank you