Last night I noticed my curley parsley was nothing but a few leaves and mostly sticks.....the plant was covered with parsley worms.
Ewwwwwwwwww !!
I do NOT like the creepy crawlers. They gross me out. But, since my gardening warrior is not here I had to deal with them on my own.
Unlike him, who picks them off and removes them from the plant, I simply got a 'yard bag' (for recycling yard waste) and dumped the whole plant & soil, saving the pot for the next planting I do. I know he's got some dill started for me so I might as well start some more parsley ~ it'll be big before I know it!
When I googled the icky things I discovered they are caterpillars that turn into swallowtail butterflies. I like butterflies. But I'm not going to leave them around until they decide to morph into something pretty. I do know they can destroy a huge plant in a matter of hours, hungry little devils that they are. So, I hope they get their fill in the dark of the 'yard bag' and live happily at the landfill......
Here's a link to a pretty good pic of what they look like: http://outlawgarden.com/2012/05/22/please-dont-tease-the-parsley-worm/
I didn't realize they also like to chew away at your dill and carrots. I'd plant my parsley in with my chives (like Norm suggested) but right now my chives are being choked out by grass that was in the soil. I have to take 'clumps', wet it down and separate the chive plants from the grass. A long and labor intensive process. I may just chuck the whole thing and buy a new chive plant. I guess I'm not as sentimental about it being started from my Grandma's chives as I use to be.
Ewwwwwwwwww !!
I do NOT like the creepy crawlers. They gross me out. But, since my gardening warrior is not here I had to deal with them on my own.
Unlike him, who picks them off and removes them from the plant, I simply got a 'yard bag' (for recycling yard waste) and dumped the whole plant & soil, saving the pot for the next planting I do. I know he's got some dill started for me so I might as well start some more parsley ~ it'll be big before I know it!
When I googled the icky things I discovered they are caterpillars that turn into swallowtail butterflies. I like butterflies. But I'm not going to leave them around until they decide to morph into something pretty. I do know they can destroy a huge plant in a matter of hours, hungry little devils that they are. So, I hope they get their fill in the dark of the 'yard bag' and live happily at the landfill......
Here's a link to a pretty good pic of what they look like: http://outlawgarden.com/2012/05/22/please-dont-tease-the-parsley-worm/
I didn't realize they also like to chew away at your dill and carrots. I'd plant my parsley in with my chives (like Norm suggested) but right now my chives are being choked out by grass that was in the soil. I have to take 'clumps', wet it down and separate the chive plants from the grass. A long and labor intensive process. I may just chuck the whole thing and buy a new chive plant. I guess I'm not as sentimental about it being started from my Grandma's chives as I use to be.