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6 Organic Ways To Keep Bugs Out of Broccoli

May 6, 2019

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There’s nothing quite like the fresh taste of broccoli from the garden, but if you live in an area where farmers grow a lot of canola (hello Saskatchewan!!), growing broccoli at home seems like an impossible dream.

Sure, things start out okay, until mid summer when broccoli becomes invested with worms and flea beetle bugs.

And it’s not just broccoli. Other vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, kale, turnips and radishes all suffer the same fate. (Although the holes on the leaves of the turnips and radishes aren’t as big of a deal.)

So how do you grow bug free broccoli?

I’ve compiled 6 organic ways you can protect your cruciferous vegetables from bugs, as well as how to wash out the bugs if a few manage to get in there.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase anything, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can read more about it in my privacy policy. Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!

1. Mesh Laundry Baskets

The easiest solution to bug-free broccoli is easily found on Amazon or at your local dollar store: a pop-up mesh laundry basket.

Just pop it up, secure it with landscaping staples, and let your broccoli grow. The rain and sun get in, and the bugs and worms stay out.

When the season is over, collapse the laundry hampers for easy storage that doesn’t take up a lot of space.

2. Screens

Screens require a little bit of DIY magic, but are a more long-lasting option that will be good for many years to come.

Make a frame out of wood the size of the area you want to protect. You could make it to fit multiple vegetables, or just one. staple screen material on the frame and set over your vegetables.

3. Nylons and Hoisery

This method is a little more finicky, and will only work for broccoli and cauliflower. However, you likely already have some on hand or could easily get some used ones for free.

Cut the legs off of a pair of sheer pantyhose.

Once the broccoli or cauliflower bud starts to appear, cover the main bud with the toe end of a pair of sheer nylons. Lightly secure. As the broccoli grows, the nylons will stretch and protect the plant from bugs.

4. Mesh Food Tents

The mesh food tents you’d use to protect your food during a picnic work the same way as the pop up laundry hampers. Get the largest ones you can find and secure with landscape staples.

This pack of 24 would work for most backyard gardeners.

5. Bacillus Thuringiensis

If you’re looking for something to spray on your vegetables, rather than cover them, you might want to try bacillus thuringiensis.

Bacillus Thuringiensis is an organic insecticide that is used to control pest caterpillars. It harms the bad worms, but won’t kill beneficial bugs that you want in your garden. In Canada it is commonly sold as BTK in any larger locally owned garden centre. You can find it on Amazon in the US as Thuricide.

Mix the concentrate as per the instructions on the bottle. Spray any cruciferous vegetables once a week and after a rain.

6. Floating Row Covers

Floating row cover kits are an easy was to protect your vegetables. Just pop up the hoops, cover with the mesh, and secure at the ends.

Too Late to Protect Your Broccoli? Here’s How To Get The Bugs Out After Harvest

To get rid of any bugs hiding in the broccoli florets, start by filling your sink with cold water. Add in 1/4 cup of salt and 2 tbsp of vinegar. Let sit for 20 minutes and rinse the broccoli.

During this process the broccoli must be completely submerged. lay a baking pan or a dinner plate on top of the broccoli to weigh it down.

As you can see, there’s lots of options so you can grow bug free cruciferous vegetables. Don’t let a few silly worms stop you from growing delicious broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kale!

I love to grow broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, but I hate how cabbage worms get to it every year.  I'm so excited to discover there are 6 organic ways to get rid of cabbage worms and finally get my vegetable garden under control.  These products are all pretty cheap too! #gardeningtips #broccoli #cabbageworms #vegetable
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

3 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening Tagged: broccoli, bugs, cabbageworms, cauliflower, Kale, organic, pest control, vegetable garden, vegetable gardening

About Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

Comments

  1. PtJoe Knightpt says

    May 25, 2019 at 10:37 pm

    Hello Kristen, my name is Joe. We live in zone 8 in east Texas. For many years I grew a very large garden. I am 75 years old and became disabled after a bad fall and not have to use a wheel chair to get around. This year I am making my first attempt at container gardening. I started late and still not completely finished. This is all new to me but guess we will see.
    Reply
  2. Mary says

    January 11, 2021 at 7:16 pm

    I had grown broccoli from seeds and planted them in my New Jersey garden last fall. One of them I planted in a large planter and placed it on my deck. Once the weather got colder, I took the planter inside. The broccoli grew slightly from November until now. Yesterday, I noticed some greenish-grayish things I thought were the beginning stages of the florets - instead they started to move, and I knew they were bugs. I quickly placed the planter outside and covered it with plastic. I figured the bugs would die from the cold weather, and the broccoli might continue growing. My question is: where did these bugs come from? They magically appeared within the last 2 days out of nowhere. They looked as though they came directly out of the broccoli stalk. Were there eggs that hatched in the dirt? How can I avoid this in the future? Last year I had the same problem with kale that I grew in my garden but covered it with a mesh covering so that the white butterfly couldn't lay eggs on the kale leaves, and it worked. What insect is laying eggs on my broccoli? Thank you!
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      January 20, 2021 at 8:45 pm

      I don't have experience with this type of bug, I'm sorry. If it's in the soil, it might be worth considering some sort of spray. I don't like to use sprays unless they're necessary, but it might be in this case. If anyone reading this knows what these bugs are and have an organic solution, please chime in!
      Reply

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Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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