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Caterpillars, nasturtiums
chrissi mackay
Posts: 3
Last summer, and I've just noticed them again, my Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum Majus) were decimated in days by green and yellow caterpillars. Hundreds of them.Its never happened before last summer. Any answers that don't involve chemicals? And what are they?
0
Posts
oops
Probably Large white butterfly caterpillars.
You can pick them off by hand, or let the blue tits eat them.
While they are eating nasturtiums, they are not eating cabbages. Some people use them as a sacrificial crop to save the cabbages, as butterflies seem to prefer them to lay eggs on.
I use nasturtium leaves dried as a substitute for salt, or fresh in salads.The seeds are especially good for toothache.Tropaeolum majus contains various vitamins, and a naturally occurring antibiotic, mustard oil, etc.So I do resent the voraciousness of the caterpillars.Wish they would eat cabbage.
You could pick them off and put them on the cabbages then, no doubt they would stay there
A friend of mine had his nasturtiums wiped out every year by cabbage white caterpillars. He carried on growing them because they left everything else alone. On our allotments - walkways lined with nasturtiums- the cabbage whites attack everything suitable to them apart from said flowers. Fickle I call them! Having said that, I have three Brussels plants (Roudnerf) covered from head to ground in fine netting. They are five feet high (staked) by two and a half feet wide and in pristine condition, apart from a little slug damage on some lower leaves. Not, I admit, a solution for nasturtiums!
No that is not helpful at all. I plant nasturtiums in a lane to cover uneven untidy land. They look beautilful for a couple of weeks and then are covered by thousands (not hundreds) of caterpillars. It would be impossible to pick them off. Then a second blooming followed by more caterpillars eating every flower and leaf. Are there any suggestions on how I can kill the caterpillars and save the flowers? Help please.
P.S. I do feed the blue tits.
I think you need to consider planting something else as anything which will kill unwanted caterpillars will also kill beneficial insects. How about a wildflower meadow mix? That will look after itself with just one big chopping down each year needed.