Caterpillars Killed My Sprouts

I planted some bagseed a few weeks ago and around the same time my babies started to pop up so did a huge amount of caterpillars. One by one all five of my baby plants were hacked down. Oddly the things didn't seem to bother eating them, only cutting them down. After the last one went I decided I'm just going to wait a few weeks until the bastards thin out, but what can I do in the future to make sure it doesn't happen again? Anything I can put in the soil that will deter them without harming my plants? Thanks in advance.

bump advice plz

i don't know about anything in the soil, but you can buy some neem oil and apply it as directed weekly to deter them. you can also try pyrethrum.

usually they don't give a shit about the stalks but will munch foliage.