Nature's Wrath

Boy, you just can't beat Mother Nature, no matter how hard you try. It seems like just when you think you've gotten things somewhat under control, something new comes along and reminds you that you're a mere mortal. We have been getting into gardening despite the past battles we've had with assorted blights and critters, and have tried our best to account for these issues. We thought we were doing pretty well when something new comes along and dampens our spirits.

We have a new pest has come along and is causing some problems with our garden. At first I wasn't sure what it was, but I noticed that they weren't doing so well over in the community garden. They looked droopy and sad, even sickly, and I figured it was rooted (no pun intended) in the fact that I transplanted them too soon. I started the seeds in tiny pots and as they grew I transplanted them into larger pots. After about a week, I put several in the ground, and you could tell that the roots had not taken hold yet. Most of the soil just fell right off the plant, and I was left with the small plug from the first planting. I didn't think it would be a problem, and for the first several days they seemed fine. When I went to check them out yesterday, they looked droopy and pale, like they were dying. What a bummer, but I still had several seedling going in the greenhouse and figured I could replant.

R came home last night and said there was some sort of mite or flea beetle that is eating the leaves and killing the plants. She could see tiny holes in the leaves. We are even seeing some in our backyard garden. What a bummer. Again, we have plenty of backups, but we have to resolve the problem or it's going to be a long summer. R did some research and said diatomaceous earth is supposed to help, and believe it or not, we have the stuff. I got it to combat ants, and it's pretty cool stuff. Tiny microscopic ocean crustaceans that apparently kill bugs. It's all natural, too. I remember when I was a kid my dad used to put the stuff in the pool filter, so I'm familiar with it. I figure we have the stuff, so it's worth a try. Besides, if it works, that would be too cool for school.

In the meantime, we'll watch and wait. At this point, the groundhogs are only part of the problem.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Ed Phillips for the pic.