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Garden Gate:  Holey basil!  |
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kindacrunchymom
True Blue Farmgirl
94 Posts
Diane
In the thumb
Michigan
94 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 12 2008 : 06:24:36 AM
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SOmething is eating my basil, the leaves look like swiss cheese 
Advice on what to do? This has never happened before and this is the 4th year of planting it in the same spot. I am kind of a pesto fanatic, so if my basil gets eaten before I can eat it, I will be so sad 
Farmmom to my 3 year old farm tot, and wife to a country boy!
To learn more about me, here is my blog:
http://mcadmom.wordpress.com/
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Sitnalta
True Blue Farmgirl
4208 Posts
Jessica
NJ
USA
4208 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2008 : 10:12:09 AM
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Does it look like bugs or maybe bunnies that are munching on your herbs?
jessie
http://crshelpmeet-heartssong.blogspot.com/
Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug. -- Mark Twain |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2008 : 10:52:40 AM
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Mine is like that too....and I found a few small slugs last night, so I'm thinking they're the culprits. It's only the lower inner leaves, really, though.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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kindacrunchymom
True Blue Farmgirl
94 Posts
Diane
In the thumb
Michigan
94 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2008 : 11:26:21 AM
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I think it's slugs :( WWYD? I tried the beer thing once and, well, I'm just too squeamish for it.
Farmmom to my 3 year old farm tot, and wife to a country boy!
To learn more about me, here is my blog:
http://mcadmom.wordpress.com/
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Sandra K. Licher
True Blue Farmgirl
1106 Posts
Sandra
Horseshoe Bend
Arkansas
1106 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2008 : 11:54:37 AM
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You could repot in pots and bring inside or do the beer thing. I have mine goign since last year but in a pot that I bring in. Mine is dying off though...I think it's really an annual but I can't buy any plants around here. I wondered if anyone knew how to propogate it? I do have some sseds though...maybe I just better get going and plant them? Good Luck with basil...I love it too!
Sam in AR |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2008 : 11:58:51 AM
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hey Diane...I guess beer would work. I've not done anything yet, as I'm too focused on my potato beetles :) I'm thinking we're in for a buggy year!!!
Oh! I found a great new pesto recipe in case you're interested....Chicken breasts stuffed with pesto and montrachet goat cheese! DIVINE!!!!
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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kindacrunchymom
True Blue Farmgirl
94 Posts
Diane
In the thumb
Michigan
94 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2008 : 4:42:05 PM
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You HAVE to share the pesto recipe!! It sounds wonderful :)
I am taking the advice and moving it into pots tomorrow. Basil is the first thing I ever grew on my own and I've never had anything but healthy plants, grrrr...I should have had a mini batch by now, sniff.
Farmmom to my 3 year old farm tot, and wife to a country boy!
To learn more about me, here is my blog:
http://mcadmom.wordpress.com/
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2899 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2899 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2008 : 7:28:59 PM
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| I've had holey basil before & just pulled off the holey leaves & let new ones come in their place. It is most definitely slugs, & if weather dries up, the new leaves should be ok. |
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Nance in France
True Blue Farmgirl
1438 Posts
Nancy
St. Laurent de la Salanque
France
1438 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2008 : 04:03:56 AM
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| Hey ladies! Hope everybody is enjoying summer so far. Diane, I have problems with holey basil, too, here in France and it is definitely the slugs. I was so surprised, thinking the taste would be too spicy. Several remedies that work. The beer in shallow dishes does, also sprinkling coffee grounds around the plants; if it is feasible, surrounding the area/pot rims/individual plants with copper bands. The copper gives them a shock on contact! Crushed shells sprinkled heavily around the plants help also, as they are too sharp for the slugs to cross (perhaps this is similar to diatomaceous earth in its effect). The most labor intensive BUT most personally satisfying is to smash them individually, or walk through your garden with a jar of water with lots of vinegar and some salt added and drop them in and dare them to backstroke! The mixture kills them. There is also a product (here in France at least) commercially available that you sprinkle around the plants and it is organic and safe to use around plants that will be eaten. Good luck! Hugs, Nance |
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annefannie
True Blue Farmgirl
60 Posts
Ann
Corona
California
USA
60 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2008 : 10:40:15 PM
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For slugs or snails on my herbs or vegatables I use salt around the base of the plant. When the little thing starts to go for the plant, it gets the salt suck to it and it instantly kills it. No poison, just good old table salt! Won't harm your plant to eat or your animals! Try it, it works great!
Anne Fannie
Farm Girl # 189
http://annefannie.blogspot.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5669677 |
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Montrose Girl
Farmgirl Legend/Schoolmarm
1360 Posts
Laurie
Montrose
CO
1360 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2008 : 4:10:29 PM
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I wish it was slugs, for me it is grasshoppers! They are so bad. I have a lot of work to do to get rid of them. ugh. Good luck, I love basil.
Best Growing |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2008 : 6:40:08 PM
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Ann, I may have to do that. Weird...tonight I was out by one of my potato plants that was just kindof "blah" and I found at the base of it, a family of slugs. Gross. I scooped em' out and threw them next door...it will take a couple of months for them to get back to the potatoes, as slow as they move :) The salt sounds like a good idea, though, around the base of the plants. I could gross myself out realllly easily with a saucer of beer!!!
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Garden Gate: Holey basil! |
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Holey basil!
