Subject: flea beetles..

From: Vicki Garland <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 1996 22:58:16 -0600 (MDT)

Forgot one thing I wanted to ask...Does anyone have any ideas for getting
rid of flea beetles?  They seem to be the primary infestation we still have
here.  They riddle the leaves of bok choi, mizuna, arugula, chinese cabbage
with many small holes.  

Vicki Garland in New Mexico at [email-masked]

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From: Vicki Garland <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 20:34:01 -0600 (MDT)

Thank you, Bob!  How, though, do I get the little guys off the plants long
enough to get row covers on the plants without sealing the beetles in?
Haven't figured that part out yet.  I will try the dusting ashes and bone
meal solution.  A neighbor here told me about the ashes routine.  Such a
mystery why one plant can be infested and the one next to it is clean. Must
be natural selection.  And mysterious, too, why suddenly, the mizuna had no
more insects.  I suspect at a certain point in the develpement, the
tenderness or flavor must change and becomes less than inviting to them.
Thanks again1
Vicki

At 06:59 PM 6/24/96 -0400, you wrote:
>Flea beetles are a common problem here in Houston on thin stemmed quick
>maturing members of the cabbage family. They are primarily a problem when the
>temperatures warm in spring, but sometimes in late fall before cool nights.
>If you need to grow these crops during warmer spring weather, do the
>following: make sure you don't plant where you did last year (or any other
>cabbage family), then cover newly planted bed with row cover and seal edges
>with boards, rebar, dirt. Remove cover only to weed or thin.  Here, flea
>beetles are mainly a problem in March April. In shade after heat hits, flea
>beetles aren't a problem.  If you only grow a few plants, spread them widely
>separated all over the yard to as to confuse the pest.  Bob Randall for Urban
>Harvest
>
>