When the rabbit destroyed my spring-planted beets, I decided that this was the year I was finally going to make a real effort for a fall garden. Nothing crazy, mind you, just some beets and cabbage, since I still need to figure out the sauerkraut thing.
We only fenced two of the raised beds, and neither of them had enough room, so I couldn't direct sow the seeds and expect them to be safe from Mr. Nibblepants. Instead, a couple weeks ago, I got some potting soil and filled a flat.
Rather than keep them inside, I left them on the deck. Within a few days, most of the cells had sprouted. At that point I figured I was fine, as long as I kept them watered and didn't leave them in the hot sun too long.
Unfortunately, one morning I noticed a few of the seedlings had no leaves. That night I brought them inside, thinking that maybe some night-flying creature had simply stumbled upon them while buzzing around the deck. No such luck. The next morning a few more leaves were missing. I suffered a couple more days and a few more leaves before I decided to spray them all with an alcohol/water mix.
Before that had time to have any effect, however, I found the culprit: a black caterpillar. I was so mad, I didn't even stop to get his picture before flinging him into the yard. Not sure how I'd missed him because he was as long as the seedlings are tall. That was yesterday, and I didn't notice anymore damage this morning. I don't think these seedlings are going to recover, however.
The ones that didn't get munched look pretty good, though, and it's about time to play executioner.
I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but my chances of having a little fall garden this year don't look too bad.
Ugh - don't you hate it when that happens! Well, at least he didn't get to more of your seedlings before you caught him. I'm usually not that great about starting seeds for the fall either. So far, I've only started some lettuce but am hoping to get a few more things going in the coming weeks.
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