The assault on my brussels sprout plant

Brussels sprout is one of my favorite vegetables.  Its a vegetable that is unheard of in India, my birth country.  It is also an expensive vegetable to buy.  So, I decided to grow it from seeds.  It was going great until it started to get ravaged by pests.

First, a pocket gopher (I am inferring from the mounds of soil left around) dug near its root.  This caused the poor plant to lean considerably.  I left it to die as I wrongly assumed that it was a lost cause.  It survived.  Its one hardy plant, I thought.

Leaning away from the wall

The small sprouts had started coming from its nodes and I salivated with a stir-fry pan ready to cook.

This morning to my dismay I found the top of the plant covered with small aphids.  Aahhh!!!  All my labor going to a naught!

Covered with aphids

I have a couple of ideas before I give my plant the hook.  I read on the web that cornmeal may do the trick.  I applied the cornmeal to the soil near the plant.

Next, I gave the plant an old-fashioned Indian treatment.  Nothing that a dose of chilli pepper and turmeric can’t cure – or so I hope.  I mixed a liberal amount of crushed chili pepper, turmeric with water.  I also added a little bit of the dishwashing liquid.  It seems to be a handy tool for organic gardeners.  I then bathed my plant (I didn’t have a spray bottle) in this liquid.

After the Indian treatment bath

 

2 weeks later, you can still see the ravages of the aphids but the plant is definitely recovered!  Yoohoo!

 

The plant is in remission!

 

 

Now I wait with crossed fingers and a stir-fry pan ready …