Tiny caterpillars in the pea pods

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Juddy in the Charente
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Tiny caterpillars in the pea pods

Post: # 110630Post Juddy in the Charente »

Hi all!

Been harvesting the peas and it wasn't till after the second meal that I realised that there were some tiny caterpillars in some of the pods! (If I ate them then they didn't make the peas taste bad!).

Any ideas? I've still got another two rows to go. They are small, white with a dark head, I don't want to use any chemicals if at all.
Surely it is better to have grown it and eaten it than never to have grown it all?

MKG
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Re: Tiny caterpillars in the pea pods

Post: # 110663Post MKG »

Fairly common (larvae of the pea moth, if my memory serves), and if they're in the pods, you're too late to do anything about it. You have two choices: leave the peas to grow to maturity and lose a proportion to the grubs, or pick 'em all now, extract the wrigglers and freeze the crop.
The secret of life is to aim below the head (With thanks to MMM)

MINESAPINT
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Re: Tiny caterpillars in the pea pods

Post: # 110750Post MINESAPINT »

I always get a few every year but not enough to be a problem. Maybe 1 in every 100 or 200 pods is affected and then usually only a proportion of that pod. Still manage to salvage a couple of peas from an infected pod!

MINESAPINT
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marshlander
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Re: Tiny caterpillars in the pea pods

Post: # 111264Post marshlander »

Touch wood, none in my peas.
Don't you have to sow early or late to avoid the prob or cover with enviromesh?
Terri x
“I'd rather be a little weird than all boring.”
Rebecca McKinsey

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