I had heard so much about kale that I thought to finally grow it myself. We grow the majority of our own vegetables anyway.
The first hurdle was the dry and cold spring. The kale just refused to take off. And when it finally started growing at the end of the summer, it was too late. It tasted like wood and was inedible.
So when the cabbage worms appeared I thought I’d just let them have fun with my kale. I didn’t want it any more anyway.
I’ve seen the cabbage worms in my childhood but I had actually never really observed them closely. But now, on a nice warm summer day, when most of the vegetables had been harvested, I took a tour on the vegetable patch and had a close look at these little green worms.
And guess what – they looked totally cute! Just look at the cabbage worm munching on the kale! It looks like a cartoon character. Isn’t it just lovely?
You can check out the video on my Facebook page here.
There were a whole lot of other creatures living on my kale, too. Snails, spiders, insects I can’t even name. It was a whole little world out there!
And I was really glad that I tried to grow kale. It was totally worth it.
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Olen lehtkapsast nii palju kuulnud, et otsustasin seda lõpuks ise kasvatada. Meie poodides pole ma lehtkapsast isegi kohanud ja nikuinii kasvatangi enamiku oma aedviljast ise.
Esimeseks komistuskiviks oli kuiv ja külm kevad. Lehtkapsas ei saanud kuidagi “jalgu alla”. Ja kui ta lõpuks augustis hoo sisse sai, oli juba hilja. Lehed olid puitunud maitsega ega kõlvanud enam süüa.
Seega ei häirinud mind, kui lehtkapsa peale ilmusid kapsaussid. Mõtlesin, et las siis vähemalt nemad söövad. Ega mul kahju ole.
Ma olen kapsaussidega küll lapsepõlvest saadik tuttav, kuid pole neid kunagi lähedalt jälginud. Kui ma nüüd ühel kaunil augustilõpu päeval, kui enamik aedvilja juba koristatud, aias ringi jalutasin, jäi mu pilk kapsausside toimetamisel pidama.
Avastasin, et nad näevad lähemal vaatlemisel täiesti nunnud välja! Kui lahedalt nad lehtkapsast mugisid – nagu väikesed multifilmitegelased. Väga armsad.
Videot saad vaadata minu facebook’i lehel siin.
Lehtkapsal olid enne sisse seadnud teisedki elukad: teod, ämblikud ja putukad, kelle nime ma ei teagi. Terve väike maailm.
Ma olen väga rahul, et proovisin lehtkapsast kasvatada. See oli seda väärt…
Oh what a shame about your kale but how nice of you to leave it to the cabbage worms.
Allie of ALLIENYC
http://www.allienyc.com
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I grew tons of kale last summer, I still have some frozen in my freezer. I have been lucky not to have pests eating mine, but I had hot peppers growing right next to the kale so that may have discouraged them. Happy gardening, cheers, Michele
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We only have peppers in the greenhouse, I guess it would be too cold for them outside in Estonia… 🙂 I might try other plants to distract the cabbage worms…
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I live in Ottawa, Ontario. The summers get pretty hot here so I can grow my vegetables with pretty good luck. This year was weird though, I had huge growth on my bean and pea plants, but very little beans or peas. I don’t know if we had a problem with our pollinators or what. I have a massive overgrowth of basil this year so this week I am going to be making loads of pesto to freeze. Hope your garden is growing well. Thanks for writing back to me. Cheers, Michele
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So nice to hear your experience! My vegetable garden actually really failed this year. But that’s how gardening is, right? I still do have enough to enjoy the homegrown.
And I love pesto! Didn’t make enough this year although the basil in the greenhouse was beautiful. I’d love to have some pesto and tomato right now! 🙂
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I have the most enormous orange tomatoes that you would love, they are very juicy and meaty with very few seeds. So sweet…with a little pesto and a drizzle of olive oil on some bread…pure heaven. Do you have much luck with tomatoes in your greenhouse? Cheers, Michele
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You can make pesto from kale too, forgot to mention that in my previous note.
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I will definitely try next year. Unless the cabbage worms make their “pesto” first. 🙂
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Yes, cabbage worms can be voracious eaters, I am sure they have made a ton of pesto from your beautiful kale.
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:))
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