Garden/Grub advice

self | June 6, 2011 | knarf

[knarf]

Grubs have lopped off about 25% of my corn ...

[knarf]

I'm in SW Pa, a LOT of water since February.

When I tilled around late March/early April, I noticed grubs and thought, "Great ... NOW what?"

I decided if I till extensively, they'd become fertilizer.

I have a plot about 20/20 within a 50/50 garden that is planted in sweet corn and the corn is up about 4-6 inches. Unfortunately, about 1/4 of my corn patch is being hit by grubs ... beautiful, healthy plants cut at ground level, liring in state, waiting for the mourners and burial.

Is there anything I can do NOW, or do I have to wait until the fall to treat the garden?

[cripplecreek]

Sounds like you’re getting a better deal than government gives you. They’re leaving 75% for you.

[television is just wrong]

check out cedarcide.com a more natural insecticide from cedar wood. I have not tried it just thought I’d let you know about it.

[JRios1968]

Bush’s Fault!

[ErnBatavia]

It might be bad for your crop, but a cure is Diazinon....granule or liquid (if it’s still even legal). Warning - it’s really smelly, but it works like a charm.

[tiki]

We use Diazanon on food crops all the time. It works for around 10 days to control pests and it controls a broad spectrum. My husband says it smells like horse farts.

[Dacula]

Garden Ping worthy

[pennboricua]

Take a look here
http://www.vegedge.umn.edu/vegpest/seedmag.htm

and here

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/ec/ec1586.pdf

Maybe this will help.

[magslinger]

I use Diazanon on my Irises (grubs just plain love them) but I wasn’t sure about using on food crops, thanks for posting.

[jaydubya2]

If you till in diatomaceous earth, it will kill grubs, but it also kills other soft worms.

[CDFingers]

Try milky spore disease. It is a microbe that kills the grubs which then releases more microbes. Its supposed to last 10 years and is only harmful to grubs.

[jaydubya2]

If you till in diatomaceous earth, it will kill grubs, but it also kills other soft worms.

[Kirkwood]

Squirrels are attacking me out this year. They ruined all of the corn and are now eating the green tomatoes. I’m catching them in traps every day and have netting over everything, but they are sneaky devils. I guess next year I have to put the entire garden inside a cage.

[YoungHickey]

I thought this was a Linux thread. :P

[Vigilanteman]

Next year, before planting corn, turn a flock of chickens loose in the field. They are excellent for rooting out grubs. As an added bonus, their poop is nitrogen rich. One chicken will clean about 100 square feet of garden in a week. So 25 chickens would handle a 50' x 50' plot of garden just fine.

You can probably still do this if you care to replant the corn. Given the climate of SW PA, you can still get a corn crop if you plant in mid-June.

If, however, you don't care to go to this organic extreme, Diazanon is the next best thing.

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

Oy. I hate squirrels. They eat up our peaches and green tomatoes too. Under the maple trees where they hide we can always find tons of peach pits. And one year they took to eating our green tomatoes on top of the old wooden swing set. They would leave partially eaten ones there and go back for fresh ones, the evil varmits.

[knarf]

Hokey Smoke, Bullwinkle !!

What a terrific idea.

My garden is fenced in and I wonder ... would chickens eat/scratch the emerging garden crop?

[bgill]

Stewed squirrel. I’m serious, that’s good eats and it’s free.

[Vigilanteman]

Chickens will scratch and eat anything. They like corn almost as much as grubs.

[mrsmith]

http://ento.psu.edu/extension

An alternative “organic” treatment would be to let a commune have a festival there. The smell will drive them away.