What ate my turnip greens?

Something, probably some kind of insect, has eaten the greens of my turnip plants until there is just the stems and a "lacey-ness" left. It's too late to plant more now. We're getting ready for the summer garden (zone 8/9 borderline, coastal GA). But is there anything more or less organic than I could have done to prevent it, and maybe can plan to do this fall when I plant turnip greens again? Could it have been aphids? We had an unusually warm winter.

Could it have been rabbits?

Either slugs or cabbage worms are possibilities.

Probably not aphids. They suck the life out of leaves. It could have been caterpillars, some of them eat the leaves, but leave the veins.

If it was a rabbit, I don't think there would be anything left. Japanese beetles will leave leaves looking the way you describe, but I think it's too early in the year for them.

OK OK, I confess, I DID IT!!!! =D

I'm wondering how fast they disappeared. Overnight or a few days/weeks?

Farmerdill-I posted a question on the Pepper Forum, do you mind answering it. Thanks

Flea beetles?

Definitely not rabbits. The turnip greens weren't "nibbled." They were eaten by something small like an insect.
It took several weeks.

Flea beetle infestation starts with tiny roundish holes, but over a period of several weeks they will eat all the leaves. I had this problem a few seasons ago. I left the turnips alone so the preditor population could build up and haven't had a problem with flea beetles since.

Miles, you'd asked if there's any preventative measures you could take for future plantings, and I've got an idea that might work, not only for future plantings, but maybe even to help your current plant(s). If you could get your hands on some beneficial nematodes, ya might want to try that and see how it goes for you. They are completely organic... well, you can read a bit about them here: http://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/nemas.html

I hope this helps!

My guess would be either pillbugs, or you've got a HARRY HORNWORM hiding out in there!

Pillbugs will put round, BB sized holes all over your leaves. HARRY will make it look like lace. The kicker is that Harry starts off as a small worm, and will eat relatively slowly in proportion to his body size. The more he eats, the more he grows, the faster he gets, and he turns your plant to lace.

Were there any telltale black pellets around? That's a sure sign you've got a HARRY on you Hands! Look at the size of the pellets (if you have any), and you'll know how big HARRY is!

Linda

Im guessing slugs or snails

I'm pretty sure it's flea beetles. They're eating my cabbages, too. I did some research and found recommendation for setting out white and yellow sticky traps. where do you get them and what are they called?

milesdt - if you Google yellow sticky traps several links will show up.

I've not heard of white sticky traps. There are blue ones and yellow ones (and maybe white ones that I don't know about.)

Personally, I've not found them to be of much use outdoors. They tend to get covered in dust and mud catching very few insects. The yellow ones are great indoors for catching fungus gnats. The blue ones catch thrips indoors.