Aphids and White Flies

I noticed the aphids last weekend and this weekend, they were joined by what I am learning is a similar tomato plant pest: white flies.

This site http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/homehort/pest/whiteflies.htm taught me all I need to know– which is: I’m way behind on a control program and better start today.

The writer is in Washington, so I am not certain if what works in the Northwest will also work here in Central south, but we’ll see if water spray to kill adults helps first.

(later that day…)

The ‘hard spray of water from the hose’ knocks the bugs off… but won’t they just come right back? After all, they do have wings. I doubt I succeeded in drowning many in this manner– I am not convinced this will work, but I glad the first intervention was to simple to try.

Cabbage worms are here

I don’t know how I missed the cabbage worms the first time, but later yesterday afternoon I closely inspected small curls in the leaves and signs of webbing and black spots (droppings). There they were. I pulled probably 10 or 12 tiny worms off the leaves and promptly squished them (don’t tell Emma).

I went leaf by leaf and scraped little yellow eggs off the undersides of the leaves… but later in the day and all morning I have been watching little white butterflies visiting my garden.

Since this is likely to be a protracted battle, I found these hints on the Internet this morning at about.com http://organicgardening.about.com/od/pestcontrol/p/cabbageworms.htm

 Grace learned the finer points of the life cycle of the cabbage worm — in one day.

Watch her adventure at the following link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSp6enWZwis&feature=email

Organic Controls for Cabbage Worms: Check your plants frequently for worms, especially if you have seen the butterflies nearby. Check plants thoroughly, and hand-pick and destroy any worms you find. If you have a serious infestation, purchase bacillus thuringiensis (BT) from your garden center and apply it according to the directions.

To prevent infestation in the first place, protect your plants with floating row covers, especially in spring and early summer, when egg-laying activity is at its highest.

 

Slugfest ‘08

My first offending garden-pest challenge… and I think it is a slug.

This guy is about the size of a corn kernel and after seeing this image, my 5-year-old daughter offered to go right out to the garden with her safety scissors and cut them all in half.

I will retain the services of my mercinary slug-warrior for later… for now, I think I will try the sunken beer trap suggested by this fun blog: http://freshasadaisyveggiegarden.blogspot.com

 

While I haven’t researched far, I will need to keep my eyes open for an offender called the cabbage worm. It’s a cute little fuzzy green worm, the type that will make my eldest swoon with love (like she did with bag worms one year which led to an escape incident in her bedroom one night after 12 fuzzy bag worms slipped under the netted tent Emma carefully sealed with tape and defected to remote parts of her room, creeping her out for weeks as she found them dried up one-by-one).

She might not mind the beer traps for the slugs (and I say – might) but whatever fate awaits the cabbage worms, if they exist, may trigger drama and pleas for clemency.

Let’s hope the slugs are to blame for the chewing here.

I have seen a number of posts from garden bloggers that are not encouraging. Most say they lost their whole crop. Again, my eldest would have something to say– it would be “Good! I hate broccoli.”

The first salad

Who knew salad leaves could be so powerful!? My packet of Thompson & Morgan Herby Salad Leaf Mix was almost as good as clear-your-sinuses-sushi-with-wasabi. Or maybe more like Thai food.

I liked it. Grace said it burned.

My Green Hearting Mixed Lettuce is pretty anemic by comparison. Maybe I need miracle grow.

Anyone know why my Basil Genovese is sickly and yellowish outside, while vibrant and green on a less that sun-filled sill over my sink? I will be sad if I cannot drape my pizza in basil leaves by August.