What's the first thing you look at when you pick a head of broccoli out of your garden? Personally, I flip the whole thing over and search for signs of cabbage worms. This year, each head I've harvested has been pristine.

What's the secret? Starting the plants early so they bulk up before butterfly season is in full swing. (Yes, the cabbage "moth" is really a butterfly.) I cover this and other permaculture tactics for dealing with pest invertebrates without chemicals in The Naturally Bug-Free Garden. Here's hoping your broccoli is just as sweet and caterpillar-free as ours have been this spring.

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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