What is eating my cauliflower leaves?

A few weeks ago I planted my fall crop of cauliflower, broccolini, and red cabbage. These cool weather plants take about 2 months to be ready for harvesting. In Maryland the growing season goes from mid September to mid November. These plants tolerate frost and thrive in the sun and cool air.

Early this week, I noticed that something was eating the leaves of my fall plants. But, I didn’t see anything on them. Then I took a closer look!

Camouflaging themselves all over my plants were green cabbage worms. The white butterflies that peacefully grace the yard lay their eggs on the undersides of the leaves. The worms that hatch dine on the leaves of the Cruciferous vegetables. Given the small size of my raised bed gardens I was able to patiently pluck all of the green worms off the plants and euthanized them in a cup of soapy water.

Now I will dotingly watch my plants for any return diners! Hopefully there are enough leaves left on the plants to continue growing to produce heads on my Cruciferous vegetables.