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| I had about 12 Swiss Chard seedlings sprouted - still cotyledons, no true leaves yet so I hadn't thinned them - but yesterday they were all completely gone. Just little stems. So I begin again... I'm using the SFG method, and had planted one square, so would have thinned to 4 plants. I'm thinking maybe I should start seedlings indoors under my dome/sunny window set up and see if I can get them to a decent size before putting them out so they might have more of a chance. Or, perhaps rigging a barrier of some kind to keep the bugs out. Maybe floating row cover? Of course, if it was worms, they can come up through the soil. This happened with my basil as well. Any advice about how to protect young seedlings in the garden? Or growing Swiss Chard in seed trays to transplant? It was so much easier to direct sow in the winter - fewer bugs, mild temperatures. Really struggling with it now...This is my first year growing real veggies. I'm in Southern CA - LA and gardening in two 4'x4' raised beds. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| My bet is rabbits |
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| Squirrels ate ours. The chard kept trying to grow, then the gray devils would come back for more. We don't have rabbits or deer... |
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| Slugs, snails and earwigs are more likely culprits to eat and destroy tiny sprouts. I rate slugs number one suspect. |
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| Slugs for sure. Every see them clean up a row of newly sprouted carrots? |
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| If it is slugs and weather is not too hot and number of plants you have is reasonable, you can use local protection. What you need: 1) 2 litters clear plastic bottles(I use bottles from sparkling water ), one per plant or one per two plants depending on how high you want to grow them undercover. 2) Tulle fabric 3) Large rubber bands Cut the bottom and top from the bottle. You may also cut it in half to make two cylinders instead of one. Do not cover your plants in the very hot weather - it will be even hotter in the cylinder despite opening on top. You can take it off during the day and install back in the evening. |
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| I like the bottle idea! I have been thinking of some kind of enclosure - thank you for the design idea! I have never seen a slug (it is very dry around the bed, xerisaped basically) but have seen many earwigs and brown caterpillars.... We don't have rabbits or deer but do have squirrels though this seems too tiny/focused damage for a squirrel. Will this help with those pests or do they burrow deep enough underneath? |
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- Posted by melikeeatplants 9b (San Jose) (My Page) on Tue, May 13, 14 at 17:53
| could be cutworms...they come out at night from soil.... |
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| I don't think bottle will help with squirrels - they will knock it out. With the rest of the bugs, as soon as they do not come from soil - it should help. |
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