What's happening to my seedlings?

  • 4 Replies
  • 1943 Views
*

Coldfeet

  • New Member
  • *
  • Location: Essex
  • 42
What's happening to my seedlings?
« on: May 17, 2013, 20:19 »
I've got a seed bed with leek, parsnip, carrot, beet, spinach and fennel all coming through nicely - couple of inches tall and looking really good.  But inspected them today to find that some of the beet, spinach and fennel were lying on the earth.  Not uprooted, look like they have been cut off above the root.  Also looks like the earth has been disturbed.  Any  Ideas what this could be?   Will I lose all my seedlings?    :(

*

sunshineband

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Reading, Berkshire
  • 32056
  • Tallest Sunflower prizewinner 2014
    • A Little Bit of Sunshine
Re: What's happening to my seedlings?
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2013, 20:26 »
Could be a caterpillar called cutworm, which can cut through stems below ground and cause this kind of collapse.

You could try digging gently around the area and see if you can find one -often they are quite big and easy to spot
Wisdom is knowing what to ignore - be comfortable in your own skin.
My Blog
My Diary
My Diary Comments

*

Coldfeet

  • New Member
  • *
  • Location: Essex
  • 42
Re: What's happening to my seedlings?
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2013, 20:50 »
I've had a Google - they sound dreadful.   I'll have a dig around tomorrow to see what I can find. 

*

sunshineband

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Reading, Berkshire
  • 32056
  • Tallest Sunflower prizewinner 2014
    • A Little Bit of Sunshine
Re: What's happening to my seedlings?
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2013, 20:53 »
I've had a Google - they sound dreadful.   I'll have a dig around tomorrow to see what I can find.

On the plus side, if you get them all, the rest of the seedlings will be safe

*

Coldfeet

  • New Member
  • *
  • Location: Essex
  • 42
Re: What's happening to my seedlings?
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2013, 12:30 »
I've been having a dig round witha teaspoon, and today found a small brown caterpillar.  Google images show lots of pics of cutworm, and I think what I found wasa young one, as it was small, brown and straight - pictures of older ones seem plump and all sorts of shades of grey and brown.  Only found one though, so ill keep poking, and watch out for further damage! 


xx
What's happening to my seedlings?

Started by mo-jo on Grow Your Own

9 Replies
1716 Views
Last post April 08, 2012, 16:23
by DD.
sad
what's happening to my tomatoes?

Started by Kiwi on Grow Your Own

10 Replies
2742 Views
Last post January 29, 2009, 07:56
by Kiwi
xx
What's happening with Raspberries

Started by Sleepingpopman on Grow Your Own

1 Replies
1110 Views
Last post July 21, 2021, 19:57
by New shoot
xx
Nothing happening in the propagator

Started by SAF on Grow Your Own

11 Replies
2550 Views
Last post February 28, 2008, 22:03
by Trillium
 

Page created in 0.495 seconds with 37 queries.

Powered by SMFPacks Social Login Mod
Powered by SMFPacks SEO Pro Mod |