Coming into the last few days of June it is time to get those brassicas out of there. Maybe you have had lingering broccoli heading up slowly in the early summer heat; or big beautiful kale plants playing their unique role in your garden aesthetics...well, their time has come! Brassicas, the plant family that includes cabbage, broccoli, kale, collards, cauliflower, kolrabi and brussels sprouts (among others), have a formidable array of pests that just love to eat them. The Cabbage Looper, nasty little green worms that infiltrate your broccoli or cabbage head and eventually turn into pretty little white moths are the most visible.While white fly, flea beetles and aphids are just waiting to join the party. Besides, Brassicas really love to grow (and taste best) during the cooler months.

One approach to breaking pest cycles in organic gardens is to make sure to get all the brassicas out of the garden for the month of July. So plant your early season greens in March and enjoy them through the end of June. Definitely make sure to get your fall brassicas in by mid to late August (nothing is better that a succulent fall kale or collards after they have survived a frost and are full of sugar). But for the month of July? Pull all your brassicas out of there and give their real estate to yummy summer crops!