Problems in Spinach Land

I planted about 5 of those spinach plants you can buy at Lowes. Today, I officially have 4 of the 5 plants mowed down by a mysterious predator. At first I thought maybe it was rats or some kind of rodent, but today I found this from harvestwizard.com:

Plants are eaten or cut off near soil level. Cutworms are gray grubs ½- to ¾-inch long that can be found curled under the soil. They chew stems, roots, and leaves. Place a 3-inch paper collar around the stem of the plant. Keep the garden free of weeds; sprinkle wood ash around base of plants.

This is what the latest tragedy in spinach-land looks like:

I did find weird worms in this section of the garden when I was planting, but I didn't think anything of it. Turns out, being a gardener is more than just planting stuff, it also involves pest control.

I just Googled the cutworm. Here is is:

Wikipedia article about cutworms

So they are not really worms, but actually caterpillars. I definitely saw these guys in my garden, so now I'm thinking this is what is attacking my spinach plants. Time to learn what gets rid of cutworms. 

I admit, I'm gettting really frustrating with this round of gardening. My summer garden was so easy and fun to grow, and these autumn crops suck ass. The pests are all over the place--we're getting invaded by slugs again. I set out beer traps that are working pretty well, but now I have to re-plant a bunch of stuff. I've got some starters going.

Couple lessons here:

* keep starters constantly starting so I always have something in rotation

* keep said starters protected from predators--set beer traps around them to ensure their safety

* get to the bottom of the spinach predator.  Try methods listed by harvestwizard.