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Something is eating my Broccoli!

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

I'm gradually expanding my square foot garden.  This year is the first for
brassicas -- 6 each broccoli and cauliflower, a couple cabbage and two
squares of kale in a 4x4 raised bed.  I started the seeds indoors Feb 13,
and transplanted them on March 6, under a cold frame for a week.  These
guys have been the greenest, nicest looking plant in the garden, giving me
a lot of pleasure watching them grow.

Recently something has been attacking my brassicas.  At first some nibbles
off one cabbage, but not the other.  I put it down to rabbits that decided
they didn't like the taste.  Then I noticed some leaves broken off a
broccoli or two.  That could have been the dog walking though (Great
Pyrenees) who treats the straw-covered potato bed as her sleeping spot, and
who has dug up one of the empty beds.  When the damage increased, I put up
a plastic netting fence around the bed (1-inch grid) to keep out rabbits
and such.  That was last night, and today there is another broccoli
destroyed, and one of the cauliflowers also.

The worst damage is from the main stem being broken/eaten.  Leaves also
appear to be eaten, as well as broken off an lying next to the plant.
There is no visible evidence of insect infestation to my novice eyes.  I
notices some of the leaves had portions that were dried out -- it attribute
that to mechanical trauma.  I would not expect a slug problem here in arid
NM, and the damage does not look like pictures of slug damage I've seen.
There are no rabbit droppings.  The bed is constructed of cinder blocks
stacked two high, with the fencing coming down to ground level, so a rabbit
would have to get between the fencing and the block, then climb up to get
in the bed.  The same kind of fence protoected the salad square last year,
so I think it will also work for the brassicas.

I'm at a loss regarding what pest could be attacking my boccoli.  Can
anyone on the list shed some light?  I'm going to put some mousetraps out
tonight (baited with cheese?) in case it's a mouse, but that's a shot in
the dark.

Andy
Whose black thumb with lettuce came through again this year.



Andy Arkusinski
Corrales, NM
Zone 5


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