Controlling Cabbage Moths

Q. I have cabbage moths.   do you have a solution for these?

A.  Cabbage moths are voracious eaters. 

  1. Get a butterfly net and catch the parents if possible.
  2. Inspect the under-side of leaves regularly.  When eggs are found rub them out. 
  3. If they hatch out you really need to rub the worms out quickly, and as often as needed. 
  4. If all else has failed (or you have failed to do the “all else”)  purchase and USE an insecticide that is for chewing insects.  Apply according to label directions.

Pruning or Trimming Cabbage Leaves

Q. Is it okay to trim off, prune, some of the lower leaves of a cabbage
plant?

A. Yes. Old leaves that are not healthy, and those lying on the ground can be pruned. Always remember when pruning that the leaves are the factory that produces growth in the plant, and act in the best interest of a healthy plant and maximum fruit.

Jim Kennard

Red Cabbage – How Long to Maturity

Q. I live in Houston Texas and planted a winter vegetable – red cabbage. Now it’s almost May and it still has not matured enough to eat. How long does red cabbage take to mature to eating stage?

A. Red cabbage that’s fed and watered will mature in 60-90 days unless the weather stays cold through most of that time. In Houston the weather is warm in the spring, so something else is going on.

Have you watered your plants regularly – never allowing the soil surface to dry out?

What – and how often – do you feed them? They don’t need much, but they MUST have nourishment on a regular basis. It only takes a tablespoon of calcium and an ounce of ALL the other mineral nutrients combined, to produce a 3-4# cabbage. But lacking that ounce and a half of nutrition your plants will languish long in the garden and never amount to anything.

Look up the feeding regimen in the Fertilizer articles in this FAQ section, or read the Fertilizer pages in the Learn section of the website. You’ll be glad you did.