Okay, so I spoke too soon about how well Max Steed, "Security Cat," is doing with keeping the wild bunnies out of the garden! Well, let me back up a bit. He is apparently keeping the bunnies out, but Something is climbing into one of the container beds and snacking on my cantaloupes! The container is too high for a rabbit to get into, I think, so it must be either a raccoon, fox, or 'possum. I know that coyotes love watermelon, so maybe it is one of the foxes from the woods behind my back pasture. Something has also dined on one of the zucchinis this past week!
This summer I have been doing some studying on bugs in my garden. I wanted to make sure I was being kind to the good ones, and making life miserable for the bad ones. I have discovered that the phrase, "the good, the bad, and the ugly," doesn't necessarily make sense in the insect world!
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| The zucchini was the first thing I noticed with some teeth marks! |
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| Then I discovered my cantaloupe! |
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| So far these two "mystery melons" have escaped detection, but for how long?! |
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Still, I had a pretty good harvest this weekend ... lots of variety, with acorn squashes, frying peppers, okra,
lemon cucumbers, and tomatoes!
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| This is one of the red frying peppers. They resemble a flattened bell pepper, and from the bottom side they look like a red shamrock! How cool is that?! These guys will be awesome in some stir fry dishes! |
So, for you, a bit of a primer.
GOOD BUGS
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| Assassin bug nymph |
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| Young assassin bug |
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Full grown assassin bug. These can look similar to stink bugs
sometimes, but the antennae on the assassin bug is much shorter.
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I used to think that assassin bugs were bad guys ... must have been the name?! But they are on the gardener's side, so leave them alone and let them do their work!
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Lady bugs come in shades of red, yellow, orange and with varying
numbers of spots or even no spots. You definitely want them in
your gardens! |
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Praying Mantis. He may look ominous, like a creature from outer
space, but remember that he or she is your friend!
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| Just look at that adorable face! I LOVE these guys and gals! |
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| This bug is a variety of Anchor Bug. |
The Anchor Bugs are a type of stink bug, but they are a good one! You can easily identify them by the pretty red design on its back in the shape of an anchor. Let it be and it will be a good garden friend. I have never seen one of these. Have you?
And now, I present to you:
BAD BUGS
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| This is a common type of Stink Bug. |
I found one just like this one on one of my cucumber leaves this week. It's body was 1-1/4" long and looked pretty ferocious! I covered it with a piece of paper towel and smushed it. I just hope it didn't make any babies before I took care of it!
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| Another common Stink Bug, often called a Shield Bug. |
They have a sickly sweet smell that lingers on your fingers, so smushing with paper towel is my preferred method.
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| Aphids on the stem of a plant, highly magnified. |
Aphids have been really active on the asparagus beans, squash and okra, and they seem to appear overnight en masse! They are also known as "ant cows" because ants herd them on the plants and then stroke them to harvest the milky-like substance that the aphids produce from sucking the juices out of your precious plants. Ants and aphids are symbiotic. So, if you see ants on your plants, you almost certainly have aphids. Grab your spray and go to work, Gardener!
I recommend that you use an organic way to rid yourself of these bad guys, and here is one I use with a good deal of success:
ORGANIC ALL-PURPOSE INSECT SPRAY
1 T liquid dish washing soap such as Ivory Liquid or Dawn
2 T vegetable oil
1 T cayenne pepper
1 qt lukewarm water
Stir to mix, then slowly pour into a quart-sized spray bottle. It will make soap bubbles, so you may have to let it set for a bit in order to get it all into the spray bottle.
You can add salt, tobacco, and vinegar to the solution also. The soap and oil make it stick to the insects and plants nicely. After a rain, you will need to make another application in order to keep your plants protected. This is a really nice, simple, and organic pest control solution. It can also double as a powdery mildew inhibitor.
Another recommended homemade insect spray:
2 parts rubbing alcohol
5 parts water
1 Tbsp of Dawn or Ivory Liquid dish soap
You can add salt, tobacco and/or cayenne to this one also. I have not used this one yet, because the other one is working well for me this year.
Now, if only I could find a really good homemade organic weed killer! Oh, I have heard and read about the one with vinegar, but then I read the fine print on several reputable sites. Vinegar WILL kill weeds fairly effectively, BUT it will also kill your grass, your petunias, and any other plant it comes in contact with, AND once it is in your soil, you will not be able to plant anything in that spot for several years and have it live! So, be forewarned about using vinegar as a weed killer, and use it carefully. Also, it works best at a higher concentration than is on your grocery shelf, according to what I have recently read. I think I will only use it on the grass and weeds coming up in cracks in my driveway and walkway.
Now, here is a great book on the subject of companion planting, just as the name suggests! I have downloaded quite a number of books to my Kindle trying to find some comprehensive information on this subject. I have gotten all them as a "free book of the day,' so I haven't wasted any thing but time with the others. I was disappointed in them all until I found this one, which I highly recommend to you, and it is available from Amazon.com. Don't let the use of the word "crop" in the title fool you into thinking it is for huge gardens only!
Last weekend, my fig trees were ready for harvesting to begin! This is the best year I have had so far for my two fig trees. I think that the cool June temps along with the abundant rains at the same time made them very happy to produce! They are about 10 years old, I think. I have done little to really cultivate them, and yet they have always given me something to enjoy despite my neglect.
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| The first day's harvest yielded almost a bushel of the sweet things. I LOVE the various shades of browns, yellows, greens, purples and reds! |
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I found this little cutie on one of the fig tree branches. It is a walking stick (female, I think, from the size of
its abdomen), and it really is not so little! But it is cute, if you ask me ... I put it back right where I found
her/him. They are a Good Bug!
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| I traded some of my figs to Judy for some purple hull peas! |
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| Found this little guy all worn out from trying to get out of a rain bucket. |
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I lifted him out and placed him on solid ground. Soon he was on his way to doing whatever toads do.
I hope it is eating flies and bugs for me!
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In my back yard, near the gate that goes out to the vegetable garden, is an old
arbor of crepe myrtles. I love how the bark peels back on the old trunks,
creating designs in gray-green and brown.
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| And look what I found on one of the lower branches! Another cicada shell! |
Oh! I have recently added to MY HAIKU page to help me make some sort of sense of things after the dog attack.
Well, that's about if for now from HeartSong Farm. Hope you are staying cool!
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