Grit Magazine

I bought one of these on a whim the other day. I have since read it from cover to cover and plan to read it again. It is a great resource for those that want to live a more sustainable, rural way of life compared to the high-maintenance lifestyles portrayed in other magazines. I am seriously considering subscriptions to this and Mother Earth News. Grit is a bimonthly periodical and runs a bit steep (twenty bucks) for six issues. I still think it is worth it. The articles are well-written and the photography, while fantastic, is not full of artistic pretension. Overall, it gets two dirt-covered thumbs up.

Ladybugs

I know this isn't a great picture, but do you realize how hard it is to take a good photo of something the size of your pinky toenail with a crappy camera? This is as good as it gets. I went to the web and found stock photos to clarify the picture. This is a ladybug larva. It's what they look like in infancy. Kinda looks like a wonky-colored alligator, huh? They are beastly, spiny critters that, if unknown to the gardener, would provoke a tirade of squishing, spraying, and screaming. I know I would. I probably have squished a few. Now, I know better. It is hard to believe that these unsightly critters grow up to be the cute little bug that society has copied to be the symbol of good luck, friendship, and cuteness that it is.

The alligator-shaped bug is its first larval stage. This stage lasts for about three weeks. They hang out on your garden plants eating aphids, mites, and other nasties. It's best to leave them alone, but if one gets knocked off its perch, gently place it back on its home. The larvae are easily damaged at this stage, so it's best to let them do their thing in solitude. At the end of their three-week eating spree, they will attach to a leaf and take a bit of a nap. They will then molt, or shed their outer skin. They will do this three times before reaching adulthood. They will hang out, still looking for aphids, scales, and mites.

Until yesterday, I had no clue where ladybugs came from. I guess I always assumed they were cute from beginning to end, with no indication that they were ever anything but ladybugs. Now, I know better.

An English nursery-rhyme dating to 1744:

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,

Your house is on fire and your children are gone,

All except one,

And her name is Ann,

And she hid under the baking pan.

...and the more grim version:

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,
Your house is on fire,
Your children shall burn!

Happy gardening.

Colorado Potato Beetles

This is our potato patch that is in the front of our garden. What you can't see is that there are four rows. On those four rows are bugs. Colorado Potato Beetles. From this point on, we will call them CPB's or little bastards. I was lazily walking the rows, admiring the sudden burst of growth when I saw a striped little beetle. A flash from my childhood came to mind and screamed at me to kill this bugger... little bastard... CPB. Whatever. I did. I got a rock and I squished his guts out. I found a larvae and squished it, too. Ok, honestly, when I saw the larvae I had no clue what I was looking at. I had a feeling in my gut that told me it was bad.

Colorado Potato Beetle Larvae--Kill it with fire!...maybe not
fire, but a nice squishing should do the trick.

We are trying very hard to keep chemicals out of the garden. This means multiple walks every day to check for the little bastards. CPB's, I mean. Surely, these guys have natural predators. Hmm. Homework. I soo thought I was over doing homework when I grabbed my diploma from my principal. Please. I have never done more homework in my life than I have since we bought this place. I hit Google. Google sent me to many, many sites by county extension offices all over the country. They all said the same thing. They are resistant to pesticides and overwinter in the ground. Grr. This leaves two options: 1. Hand pick them. 2. Introduce predators. Hmm. Ok, what are the predators? Turns out that ladybugs luuurve them some CPB larvae. It seems in my eagerness to rid my potato plants of pests, I deprived a hungry ladybug of a meal. Dear ladybug, I am truly sorry. Help yourself. Bring friends. Love, me.

Love the ladybugs, leave the stinkbugs and let them eat the striped bugs. While stinkbugs aren't good for tomatoes, they are good for potatoes. I guess it's a good thing they are on opposite ends of the garden.

Move some earth, drop a seed, pray for rain, and reap the bounty. Happy gardening.

Guardian of Not-So-Gargantuan Size

Meet Alfritz. He is a mighty guardian of tiny stature. He has been standing watch over our strawberries for a year. Last year did not go so well for Alfritz. He was not intimidating enough to ward off the birds that dismembered the few strawberries we had. We imprisoned him in bird netting in an attempt to save what we could. The berries we picked were tasty. This year is bringing Alfritz a taste of freedom. He is getting a second chance to prove his worth. We will watch you, Alfritz. We will watch... and pray.