Some Pest Problems in My Brooklyn Vegetable Garden

After not checking in for a week, I was bit nervous in checking in on my vegetable garden in Brooklyn. Luckily with the ridiculous amounts of rain that we’ve been getting, things looked good, but some of the containers showed signs of pest problems.

The first problem that I noticed was on the collard greens. Some of the leaves on the left side were a bit chewed through. Most of the bigger leaves were untouched. I didn’t notice any pests on them while I was there. At this point, I’m not seeing this as a huge problem, but just something to note.

The plant that had the biggest pest problem was the nasturtium. The flowers that bloomed were overridden by some tiny black bugs. I think the problem was that I let the flowers go too long and they died. Once that happened the bugs took over. To help combat the problem, I just picked off what appeared to be dead.

The container with the peppers and basil had some pest issues as well. One of the leaves on the pepper plant had some kind of black stuff of some sort on it. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was besides nasty. There were ants crawling all around it. The basil leaves were also slightly chewed through.

Despite the small pest problems, the rest of the containers looked good. I was able to harvest a boatload of lettuces, some herbs and should be able to get some more throughout the week. Check this video too see how everything is looking:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YhYvQHPk6Q

Jim Dee June 22, 2009 at 8:10 am -

Really impressive, Mike! Everything looks great! I don't know if I ever had sorrel before… Will have to try it!
Mike Lieberman June 22, 2009 at 8:29 am -

Thanks Jim. I never had sorrel either. Pretty good. Has a bit of a lemon taste to it. Definitely good to sprinkle in a salad.
Mrs Green June 22, 2009 at 10:50 am -

Hey 🙂 Just thought you might be interested to know that nasturtiams are a great companion plant for the reason you discovered – they attract blackfly, so keep them from other crops for you. Not great if you're planning to eat the nasturtiams, but at least they protect other plants for you 🙂
Mike Lieberman June 22, 2009 at 11:06 am -

Good to know. I think I'll just have to harvest quicker if I want to eat.
madpanic June 23, 2009 at 5:38 am -

if you can post picks of the problem pests, ill try to id them, or find someone who can… i know down south where im at, its a ruthless battle to deal with insects of all types
Mike Lieberman June 23, 2009 at 6:55 am -

Thanks for the offer. Won't be heading back to Brooklyn until later in the week, then head out west for like 2 weeks for some backpacking and hiking. When I get back, I'll take some pics of the pests if they are still there. Much appreciated.
madpanic June 23, 2009 at 12:38 pm -

if you can post picks of the problem pests, ill try to id them, or find someone who can… i know down south where im at, its a ruthless battle to deal with insects of all types
Mike Lieberman June 23, 2009 at 1:55 pm -

Thanks for the offer. Won't be heading back to Brooklyn until later in the week, then head out west for like 2 weeks for some backpacking and hiking. When I get back, I'll take some pics of the pests if they are still there. Much appreciated.
MyEdibleGardens February 4, 2012 at 8:56 am -

Dude, your nasturtiums have aphids. Aphids are drawn to them over other plants. I’ve planted them to that purpose before, to draw the aphids away from my lettuce for instance. Flowers are edible, use small leaves as a substitute for watercress.
Mike Lieberman February 4, 2012 at 7:50 pm -

Appreciate the tip.