Planning Ahead for Deep Watering

You've got to think creatively for veg plants that love to dive deep. We're talking about tomatoes, squash, watermelon, and pumpkins, plants that need to grow big and strong underground to support big and strong fruit on their plants.

Utilizing a soaker hose is one way, but two years in a row, my soaker hose clogged midseason. I'm now willing to try something new.

I like the pictured concept, reposted from thegardeningcook.com. This provides for a refillable, underground reservoir of water that slowly hydrates nearby roots and is oh so easy and cheap.

This is one of the new things that I'm building into my 2015 garden plan. I'll report on its effectiveness later in the season.

REPOST: Deciding to Grow Heirlooms

It's high time to get this garden party going again, and so, I revisit my first post, published in 2012.

Heirloom = a valuable possession passed on from generation to generation.

My father was a backyard gardener. My grandparents and great grandparents on both sides of my family were farmers. I have it in my blood. Although my newly arrived heirloom seeds are not from family, they come from a small farm in Michigan--a farm much like my past generations may have owned.

I've grown herbs and flowers and various types of vegetables through the years, but it's time to make it more meaningful. Some day I'll buy some land. Today, I have just a few hundred square feet in my urban yard. I'm determined to make it work. I will feed my family heirloom edibles this summer, and I will preserve and share the seeds after this season...

...and in the process, I hope to find a pathway to my inner garden of tranquility amidst the sounds of car alarms, disgruntled neighbors, and freeway traffic.

For the Birds

It’s the middle of winter here in Michigan, and it’s appropriately cold and snowy outside. Thankfully, the sun is shining brilliantly today. I am at the window, soaking up the warmth and watching my backyard bird friends doing the same out in the frigid air. I’m always amazed to see birds flitting about in the dead of winter. Why don’t they leave for a warmer climate? How can they not be freezing their tail feathers off? How do their fragile feet not just crackle into icy bits?

 

I get that birds have a higher body temperature than humans, they have a much faster metabolism, they grow winter feathers for extra insulation, and they can actually control the blood flow to and from their feet to conserve heat in their bodies. I know that birds wintering in Michigan are actually well prepared to do so, but I just can’t help but want to keep them warm.

I imagine wrapping all of my backyard trees in fleece and crocheting little birdie coats. I put out pieces of warm nut bread and consider buying a heater for our bird bath. I hatch a plan to build a bunch of weatherproof bird houses over the summer so I needn’t worry next winter. And I collect materials to help insulate their nests, creating what I’m calling a Bird Nesting Helper Ball.

 

I’m not the only crazy bird lady out there--I found examples galore of these types of DIY nesting balls online. For mine, I used an inexpensive grapevine ball from Michael’s and stuffed it with all the natural fiber thingies that I could find around the house: yarn, shredded paper, strips of fabric, natural cotton, small bits of dryer lint. I read that cashmere and wool are better insulators as they keep in warmth while staying relatively dry, and that using too much dryer lint is bad as it tends to gum up when wet and can actually pool water inside the ball.

I hang out the Nesting Helper Ball in my yard and wait and watch … knowing full well that there is little to no nesting going on until the spring. I stay at the window, my face in the sun, and imagine myself wintering in a warmer climate, no parka needed, no snow boots, or wind burn on my face … knowing full well that there is little to no chance that I would actually take flight and migrate out of Michigan.

Simple Sauteed Kale

This is one of the most basic and yummy ways to eat kale. (I only recommend this for flat-leaf kale, not the curly types.)

Ingredients:

   2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil

   2-3 cloves garlic, minced

   A big pile o' Lacinato kale (a pound or more), center ribs removed and chopped

   1/4 teaspoons soy sauce
   Sea salt, to taste

   Pepper, to taste

   Black or white sesame seeds

Heat oil over medium-high heat in large sauce pan. Add garlic and cook until soft (do not brown).

Add kale and, using kitchen tongs, turn the leaves into the oil and garlic repeatedly until kale begins to wilt (about 5 minutes).

Add soy sauce, salt, pepper, and some sesame seeds, and toss. Serve immediately, sprinkling a few additional sesame seeds on the kale once plated.

Optional:

Add rice vinegar or red wine vinegar instead of soy sauce; use red pepper flakes instead of sesame seeds. If using large, veiny leaves, add 1/4 cup water or broth immediately after the leaves go into the pot, stir,  cover, and simmer for a few minutes.

Serves 3-4. Like spinach and other leafy greens, kale cooks down a lot, so you'll always start with what you think is too much and end up with not enough. For the first time or two making this, don't be afraid to overdo it with the amount of kale used.

It's a Kale Fest!

The heirloom Lacinato Kale is ready for harvest! I had a pretty decent pest prob with mine early on, so growth was slow at the beginning. I put up garden netting for protection, and in July, the crop really took off.

In addition to my plants, the kale seedlings that I gave my mom are ridiculously thriving--I don't know what's going on up there in mid-Michigan, but all of the plants are double the size of what's in my yard.

My mom in her garden, "up north" in Michigan.

Between both of our gardens, we have an overabundance of kale right now--and that's a very good thing.

There are numerous varieties of kale. I chose to grow an heirloom variety called Lacinato Kale, also known as Dinosaur Kale or Black Kale. It has flat leaves, is highly savoyed (bumpy), and to me is much tastier than the more bitter, curly versions traditionally used as garnish on the dinner plate. 

Why Kale Is So Darned Good for Us

Kale is known as a "super food"-- one of the healthiest foods on the planet. The fact that it is packed full of antioxidants and phytonutrients make it one of the best natural sources for fighting cancer, high cholesterol, and heart disease. According to WebMD, one cup of kale has 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6, 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K.

For those who are dairy-challenged, dark, leafy vegetables like kale, Brussels sprouts, and spinach are terrific sources of calcium.

Kale also contains something called sulphorane, which is a powerful antioxidant that has been shown to selectively destroy cancer cells. Over the years, I've read about this in several journals, including the Natural News site posted in the sources below.

Kale gone wild, from both my garden, and my mom's in mid-Michigan.

Cleaning & Prepping Kale

The larger, outer leaves on a kale plant can be bitter, while the younger, tender pieces have a sweeter taste. Use the various types of leaves for different dishes--I prefer to use the larger leaves for soups and sauces, and the smaller ones for sautees and salads. Any of the leaves can be used for juicing.

After harvesting, place the kale leaves in a big bowl of cold water. I like to soak them for at least 15-30 minutes. Run the leaves under cool water and gently rub the surface of the leaves to dislodge any dirt or other "unwanteds." Let the leaves dry in a colander or on a clean kitchen towel. The large ribs of the leaves are tough and nearly inedible and should be cut out.

This variety of kale is great simply sauteed with garlic and oil, and it can be added to eggs, pizza,  and pasta sauces, or crisped up into a salty snack. I'll post some additional kale recipes in the coming week, but here is my favorite raw juice recipe to start:

Sweet Green Juice

3 apples, cored
1 peach
3-5 kale leaves
1 small carrot
1 small rib of celery
1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger root

Sometimes I throw in some cucumber, a handful of grapes, or a plum, depending on what I have in the house. I enjoy the juice best served in a frozen glass.


Sources:

Dr. Nancy, "All Hail the Mighty Kale," TruthNHealth.com, http://www.truthnhealth.com/2012/02/all-hail-the-mighty-green-kale/.

"Kale: What's New and Beneficial about Kale," The World's Healthiest Foods, http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38.

Phillip, John, "Sulforaphane from Broccoli and Cruciferous Vegetables Selectively Destroys Cancer Cells," NaturalNews.com, http://www.naturalnews.com/032988_sulforaphane_cancer_cells.html.

Zelman, Kathleen M., MPH RD, LD, "The Truth about Kale," Web MD, http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-kale.

(Sometimes) Pictures Speak Louder...

Short on words, long on photos on this hot summer day. Enjoy.

Praying mantid, watching me from the Lacinato Kale.

Blue jay, panting, hot, on a July afternoon.

Blue jay, panting, and not caring that I am just a foot away.

A cool chrysalis that I found in the Kale. Tied some thread around it and stretched it across a jar.

The next day, something hatched. It's a cabbage moth!

This guy really freaked me out. I stumbled upon it while out on a late night garden check. I turned over a big broccoli leaf and there it was ... a cicada, molting at midnight.

Mackenzie, releasing lady beetles.

Lady beetle on a leaf.

Beautiful heirloom tomatoes and peppers.

"When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy

There is always the garden."

-- Minnie Aumonier

The Japanese Beetles Are Coming! The Japanese Beetles Are Coming!

Correction: They're already here.

For the last three years, I planned to apply milky spore to my lawn, and for the last three years, I did not, and so every summer, the Japanese Beetle Battle ensues.

Japanese beetles (popillia japonica) are voracious feeders--they can cause serious damage to a small, organic garden. The little metallic dudes were accidentally brought to the United States from Asia around 1916. They are said to devour more than 300 types of plants--in my garden, they especially dig basil, carrot tops, and pepper plants. Once they mature into the adult seen below, there is not much hope of eradicating them. The trick is to get them the year before, by treating their young with something called milky spore.

Milky spore is a naturally occurring bacterium that acts as an effective organic pesticide for beetle larvae, which live for most of the year under your lawn as ugly, white grubby guys. Milky spore, which comes in powder form, should be applied after adult beetles lay their eggs and the eggs are hatched. We're currently under beetle attack now in the Midwest, so if your garden is, too, the time to apply milky spore is coming! I plan to treat my yard in the next three to four weeks.

Keep in mind that treatment this year doesn't help with this year's Beetle Battle--it's to head off next year's war. This is how it works: in August, newly hatched grubs begin to feed on tender grass roots, so it's a perfect time to apply milky spore. The grubs digest the stuff, the bacteria begins to reproduce in the gut of the grub, and within a few weeks, no more ugly, white grubby guys. If they are not killed off at this time, they burrow deep below your lawn and emerge many months later as hungry Japanese Beetles.

To fight off the mature beetles that are already at work this year, the best thing to do is begin midnight bug hunts. Get out there with a bowl of soapy water and a flashlight. They are attracted to light, so get the landscape lights off of your plants during this time and onto a plantless area--the back wall of my house works well. The beetles conveniently congregate there, allowing for an effective surprise attack.

These guys are fairly slow-moving, so it's not difficult to locate them and knock them into the soapy bowl. Sometimes I get really crazy, especially after my 11pm glass of red wine, and knock them to the ground, using my cute pink garden clogs to stomp them to oblivion.

The earlier you get to these guys the better, because upon finding a particularly delicious cultivar, they attract additional Jap Beets by leaving a pheromone trail ... a sort of neon, flashing bug billboard that reads "Eat This--It's Super Yummy!" You may have seen the pheromone traps sold at hardware stores and garden centers, but many experts feel that the traps attract more beetles than are caught. I decided to stay away from them.

I have tried to detract them from my yard by spraying a spicy pepper water on my plants: 5-6 diced habaneros, garlic, and cayenne in some water, let sit in the sun for a few hours, then strain it. I tried it for a few days, and it actually seemed to help, but it was right before leaving town, and the remaining potion did nothing but stink up my garage. I do think that it's worth another try. Garlic planted in your prized beds is also said to turn them off. And geraniums are said to attract them, and then kill them off.

Japanese beetles are a huge summer problem in Midwest gardens--what are your experiences with them?

   “O'er folded blooms on swirls of musk,
   The beetle booms adown the glooms
   And bumps along the dusk.”

   -- James Whitcomb Riley

Sources:

Cook, Kelly A. and Grey, Michael E, "Japanese Beetles: Popillia japonica Newman," Integrated Pest Management, http://ipm.illinois.edu/fieldcrops/insects/japanese_beetles/index.html.

Hart, Anna, "Home Organic Gardening Pesticides--Part 2," Organic Springtime, http://www.organicspringtime.com/organic-pests/home-organic-gardening-pesticides-part-2-41/.

"How to Control Japanese Beetles in Your Organic Vegetable Garden," Blue Horizon Farm, http://www.bluehorizonfarm.com/organic-gardening/japanese-beetles.html.

"Japanese Beetle Quarantine," Rutgers Department of Entomology, http://www.mosquito.rutgers.edu/jb.htm.

Liskey, Eric, "Japanese Beetle: Bugs from h-e double hockey sticks," Everyday Gardeners, http://www.bhg.com/blogs/everydaygardeners/2012/07/06/bugs-from-h-e-double-hockey-sticks/.

Asian Cucumber Salad

My heirloom cucumbers are coming in FAST and furious, so today's lunch featured "Cucumbers: 3 Ways:" (1) simply sliced and served with ranch dressing for the kids, (2) the old-fashioned Polish way with sour cream and dill, and (3) my favorite way, in an Asian Cucumber Salad. I combined a few different recipes and made this my own.

Asian Cucumber Salad

   2 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
   1 teaspoon sea salt
   2 fresh chili peppers, seeded and diced
   1 green onion, sliced in super thin strips
   1/3 cup rice vinegar
   1 tablespoon sugar
   2 tablespoons sesame oil
   1 large clove garlic, minced
   1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
   1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Put the sliced cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle the salt over them. Stir a bit, and let sit like this for 20-30 minutes.

Whisk the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Add the oil, garlic, chili peppers, ginger, and sesame seeds.

Rinse the salt off of the cucumbers and let drain. Place the drained cucumbers in a bowl, add the green onion strips, and drizzle the dressing over. Toss lightly. Best eaten immediately. 

Itadakimasu!

DAY 104: The Start of Summer Harvest Time

Purple Beauty Sweet Pepper about to be picked.

Lettuce blend. We've been fortunate to be eating this for a while.
Seen here is a mix of Oak Leaf, Salad Bowl, Deer Tongue, and Rossimo lettuces.

The very first cukes and tomatoes (these are yellow pear tomatoes).

More cucumbers, chili peppers, and a purple pepper.

Garden Alive!

"She sat down in a weed patch, her elbows on her knees, and kept her eyes on the small sterious world of the ground. In the shade and sun of grass blade forests, small living things had their metropolis."   

- Nancy Price

When I really look at, I mean really PAY ATTENTION TO, the creatures in my yard, I am astonished. I equate the feeling to finding myself in a dark, remote area and observing hundreds of thousands of stars glowing in the night sky. I ask myself: Is there all of a sudden a huge increase in the number of stars up there, or were they always there and I just didn't see them, or pay attention to them?

When I really began to look at, I mean really PAY ATTENTION TO, the creatures in my small, urban yard, this is what I have observed:

Squirrels, and whole lot of them

Carpenter bees

Bumblebees 

Honeybees

Ants of many sorts

Crickets

Leafminers

Praying mantids

Rabbits 

 Lady bugs and their larvae

Cardinals

Moths

Butterflies

Grasshoppers

 Mites of several sorts

 Leafhoppers

Flies of many sorts

Earwigs

Raccoons

Slugs

Robins

Aphids

Blue jays

Wasps

 June beetles

Japanese beetles

Pill bugs

Wireworms

Dragonflies

Starlings

Chipmunks

Wrens
Woodpeckers

Mosquitos

Gnats

Garden webworms

Goldfinches

Nightcrawlers

Millipedes

Cabbage worms

Spiders of many sorts

Soldier bugs

Neighborhood cats
White-breasted nuthatches

My garden is alive! I have personally seen every one of the above in the last three months--that's an ACTIVE, garden party kind of yard.

Is this good, bad, normal? I don't know, but it is astonishing to me.

Humans are physically larger than any one creature on the list, yet we are grossly outnumbered. That fact is a bit unsettling to me--several month's worth of work in the garden could be completely obliterated in a few buggy nights ...  if not for the awesome balance of nature.

When have you last paid attention to what's alive in your yard?

My Hanging Gutter Garden

Early in the season, I cleared out a sad row of shrubs that were struggling alongside my garage. There was a lack of sun and water in the area, so we cut down some major tree limbs to let the light in, and I installed a soaker hose. The soil was amended with some good manure and compost, and the plants went into the ground.

Then the bugs moved in! Slugs and pill bugs and earwigs, mostly, and I knew my tender lettuces and herbs didn't stand a chance without changing the plan. So we developed the HANGING GUTTER GARDEN (concept by me, and many before me, with a little help from my friend Google; and design and build by my strong and handsome manfriend, Brian).

The first build failed, resulting in all three gutters, and a coupla hundred pounds of soil, crashing down on each other. With some design and stabilization adjustments, they're back up, a few weeks strong now. The plants are thriving in this location. They get the right amount of sun, some nice air movement, and they are up and away from the worst of the garden buggers.

I planted a pretty good variety to see what would take. In the top, which gets the least amount of sunlight, I have sage and a variety of lettuces. The other rows have arugula, kale, chard, strawberries, thyme, and radishes.

On the far ends in the ground are broccoli and my overachieving cucumber plants (seen the middle photo)--they are getting signs of a few pests, but my midnight bug checks have been fruitful, and the beneficial insects (mostly lady bugs, praying mantids, and spiders from what I've seen) seem to be keeping things in check. These plants are extremely healthy. And we're starting to fill our plates with the lettuces and arugula at this point in the growing season.

What do you think? Is this a good use of space? Or is my hanging gutter garden trashing up my yard?

Praying Mantids!

Back in early May, I bought a praying mantid egg case from a young gal at my local farmers market. Given my garden pest problems, I've been extremely anxious for these little guys to start poking their swively heads out and into the world. Today was that day.

I read that creating a humid environment helps with hatching, so for the last week I very lightly misted the egg case. I also warmed the container a bit on the colder days by running hot water on a metal pan, leaving about a 1/8 inch of water in the pan, and then putting the mantids' container in the pan to sit on the counter for an hour or so. Today, midday, they hatched. 

My daughter released them into the yard. They seemed to like her and hung around, and a few perched on her hand.

We were told that there would be about 200 or so hatchlings from the one egg case, and I would say that was about right. We released some in each of the three main planting areas in our yard, and left their container open and out in the back bed in case the babies wanted to hang out in what has been their home for the last months.

I checked in on them a few hours later and saw lady beetle larvae in and around the container. Who would win out in a battle between the two, the lady beetle or the baby praying mantid? Not sure. They are both beneficial to my garden--let's hope they work together to get the bad guys.

On my midnight garden outing, I spotted one lone praying mantid perched on the highest leaf of my previously earwig-plagued broccoli plant, no earwigs to be found. This morning, there are a half-dozen sunning themselves on the leaves of my iris plant, which is in the bed where I had the mite problem. Go forth and prosper, you little cuties. I'll be watching out for you.

 

The Urban Garden Bug Bash Rocks On

 Here's my beautiful Lacinato Kale (the orange specs on the plant are cayenne pepper--obviously the culprit likes its kale hot and spicy!):

And my Filderkraut Cabbage (the white powder seen around the plant is white flour--it's obviously not helping much):

It's maddening. Thankfully, this kind of damage is only seen in one planting area, and I have lots of both of these plants as backup yet.

I know that this could be done by many a bastardly creature--so I immediately initiate a multi-faceted search and destroy mission. Over the next three days, I: (1) make Bug Killer Juice; (2) set beer and oil traps; (3) place rolled paper in the garden; (4) begin hunting at midnight.

(1) Bug Killer Juice: I adapt a Jerry Baker recipe, combining water, dish soap, finely chopped onion and garlic, and shredded marigolds. I spray it on all of my plants daily, and I shoot the bad guys with it when I spot them. Bugs really seems to hate the stuff, and it doesn't harm the plants. Bonus: my garage and yard smell delizisio! 

(2) Beer and oil traps: Who doesn't like beer, especially at one's first Spring Bug Bash? I cut the bottoms off of plastic water bottles and also use a few flower pot trays, and set them into the ground so that their tops are about even with the soil. I pour beer in some, and olive oil in others. I lay a few beer bottles horizontally into the ground so there is just a slit of an entrance into them.

(3) Rolled paper: My daughter and I collect a few empty toilet paper rolls and some newspaper, twist them and wrap them with a rubber band. I pour a little beer into each and place them throughout the garden. Various pests are said to like this kind of environment and crawl in for shelter before the sun comes up. At that time, they can be snatched up and put in soapy water.

I step back and sigh--my garden looks terrible with this paper and cardboard and bottles in it, but I don't want to lose all of my heirloom plants. I head for bed and hope the morning brings some insight into what is feasting on my cabbage and kale. 

The sun comes up, and I run out to the yard. First thing I see, mucking it up on a paper roll is the mighty SLUG. Drats! Repulsive. There's also one in a beer trap. I begin to turn over stepping stones, and within 10 minutes, I'm looking at more than a dozen slimy, gross slugs.

These guys can do MAJOR damage. They love wet, dark hiding places, so I move the large rocks in my garden and place them toward the back fence and away from my edibles (over the next few days, I will continue to look under them for additional slugs), and I decide to stop watering the beds in the evening.

I continue to search for them. They're under the plastic plant trays on the patio and in the little drainage holes of the plastic planters. My daughter gets a kick out of using tweezers to pull them out--I'm too grossed out by them--and we place the planters in a drier place. In total, we collect 30-40 slugs in two days. Yesterday we could find none.

(4) Midnight hunting: I get on my boots, take a flashlight in one hand and the Bug Killer Juice in the other, and head out. The first night, I discover another garden pest enjoying my marigolds and broccoli--the cursed EARWIG!

More than a dozen of them are on one plant alone. Prior to this point, I didn't even know that earwigs ate plants. Lovely. What else do I see en masse? Pill bugs, aka rollie-pollies. I've never seen them ON PLANTS before, but here they are, I'm assuming also munching away. I douse them all with bug juice. I check back out around 5:00am, and the plants are bug-free. It seems to be working, at least for now.

On the positive, the lady beetles are numerous and industrious. I've had no additional issues with mites. But I realize that I need to make some changes, and fast. I believe that wood mulch is probably causing pest problems--it may need to go. I wonder if I should give up trying to grow anything in the cabbage family this year. They are prone to attack, especially when growing them organically--and I'm not about to start using chemicals.

Also, I need a plan for getting more plants off of the ground. It's time to get creative with vertical gardening.

Day 70: We Have Edibles!

After five great days vacationing with family in Texas, we're back home to find deliciously sweet and tender snap peas! The plants struggled a bit in the heat while we were away, but pea pods are a-hanging, and blossoms are abundant. I was looking forward to making some stir-fry meals with the snap peas, but I don't think we'll be able to resist them in their raw form right off of the plant. So good.

How is everything else doing? Some really great, some just okay ... of course, given the return of early heat here in Michigan, the insects are running rampant. You can see their effect on the Brussels, broccoli, kale, and cabbage. The white seen on the leaves and in the mulch below is ordinary white flour -- reportedly, cabbage worms eat the flour, bloat, and die. We'll see if it works.

We have baby fruit on the tomato plants (this particular variety is the yellow pear tomato), and blossoms on nearly every pepper plant.

The heirloom tomato and pepper plants that I started from seed are slow to grow, so I have yet to transplant them into the ground. They will likely end up in pots on the patio. The varieties pictured here are heirlooms from a local farm.

I also picked up some cucumber and broccoli plants from a local farmer, and these plants are THRIVING in the heat. I planted marigolds throughout my veggie beds as they are said to help with nematode and aphid problems.

I love the cucumber plant's curly-cue tendrils -- if you watch for long enough, you can practically see them growing in front of your eyes.

The lettuces in the window boxes are growing strong--they really love their east-facing spot, thankfully. The green shoots emerging from the soil to the left of the lettuce below are Parisian Market Carrots, a chunky, round variety that should grow well in the shallow soil depth of the window box. 

And all of my herbs are thriving. I have two kinds of basil, rosemary, and some coleus (mixed in for color) in one pot, and a tall plant stand that holds mint, parsley, and cilantro.

I really dig the plant stand, which is from Crate and Barrel. It allows me to stack these herbs vertically (remember that I have very little patio and yard space). It also lets me easily swap out or move around plants from this stand to adjust for shade/sun.

As my garden grows, I am beginning to think of new dishes to cook using these plants. Tonight I made grilled chicken and yellow squash, and worked in the parsley and cilantro, as well as my many-year-old chives that originally came from my mother. Do you have favorite recipes that feature any or many of the ingredients in my garden? Pass them along, please!

"Shall I not have intelligence with the earth?

Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?"

--Henry David Thoreau

It's an Urban Garden Bug Bash

Apparently a broadcast bug bulletin went out last week: "Come one, come all ... beetles and bees, wormies and wasps, aphids and mites! There's a new party house in Royal Oak. Open 24 hours!"

I knew this would come--I figured that the time was nigh for my garden to come under attack. The yellowjacket wasp is still sharing space with the carpenter bees, who are busy protecting their little round spaces of homes in my garage eaves (although I've been gently living with them without a sting thus far). The cabbage moths are back and flitting about, and a few cabbage loopers have been found and treated with white flour...these, especially, will be watched carefully in the coming days.


Lady Beetle larvae

On the beneficial bug side, I've found Lady Beetle larvae among my brassicas--I've learned that they are a main predator of the aphid and cabbage worm. Hiya! You gals can stay.

Also, from my local farmers' market, I purchased an egg case filled with up to 200 Praying Mantids, which should hatch this month. Praying Mantids have a voracious appetite for all kinds of insects, including aphids, moths, mosquitos, and flies. Come on out, little ones, my garden needs you.


What I was NOT prepared for was my body to be attacked. Squeamish readers won't like this part ... a week ago today, after a long, hot day of digging deep into the soil bed along my back fence, I started to notice itchy bites on my skin. As time went by back in the house, the bites seemed to multiply. I didn't feel any stings, I didn't see any crawlies, but a few hours after coming indoors, hot welts were developing all over my back, neck, and legs, as well as some under my arms, near my sensitive girlie armpits, and along my bra line. I stopped counting at 130 bites overall. There were more than 30 on one thigh alone, which caused general swelling of the entire area, about the size of my hand. What the ...?!

After a lot of research, I surmised that it was very likely the workings of the chigger mite, a nearly microscopic, round, reddish dude, who moves fast and runs in packs. The chigger is not an insect but an arachnid, related to spiders and scorpions. Let's all say it together now: "Ewww!"

Microscopic view of a chigger mite

Chigger mites attach themselves to a host (like, um, ME, for instance) and inject a digestive enzyme that breaks down body tissues. Chiggers then feed on that liquefied tissue. Mmm-mmm. Thankfully, these guys in the United States don't carry any known diseases, and they don't infest homes. Not so thankfully, they got me, but good. For four to five days, I was a walking itch, inflamed and incensed. The swelling and itching calmed down fairly quickly after that point, even though after a week I still look like a dirty kid with scabies.

Cortisone spray, vaseline, and ibuprofen helped tremendously those first few days. I also tried clear nail polish and raw honey on the welts, but that really just made me feel stinky and sticky.

What can I say but LESSON LEARNED! I do not need to become one with my soil. There is no need to crawl in it, to practically bathe in it, to get the garden work done. And from now on, I will forget about the capris and sockless garden clogs. When working in the back beds, I need to COVER UP for goshsakes with a long shirt, tall socks, and my knee-high Wellingtons, even in my small yard. And I'll try the Burt's Bees or Skin-so-Soft treatments before going out.

I hate to say it, but the Bug Bash isn't even fully amped up yet, as June Bug, Japanese Beetle, and Mosquito season is still around the corner.

Sources:

"Chiggers!" MDC Online, Missouri Department of Conservation, http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/avoid-outdoor-pests/chiggers.

"Chiggers - Mites That Bite!" Living with Bugs,  http://www.livingwithbugs.com/chigger.html.

Cranshaw, W.S., "Lady Beetles," Colorado State University Extension, http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05594.html.

"Eight Interesting Facts About Aphids and Suggestions for Control," Karen's Garden Tips, http://www.karensgardentips.com/growing-garden-plants/garden-pests-diseases/eight-interesting-facts-about-aphids-and-suggestions-for-control/.

Hamir, Arzeena, "Using the Praying Mantis in Your Garden," http://www.gardenguides.com/840-using-praying-mantis-garden-garden-pest-tip.html.

Smith, Jennifer, "Chiggers: Fact and Fiction," LJWorld.com, http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/aug/21/chiggers_fact_and_fiction/.

Wood-Boring Bees!

Bumblees are fascinating creatures. Their amazingly loud buzz and way of hovering is something out of a science fiction movie. I was enjoying a small group of them in my yard (from a distance) until I needed to work in their area (up close), and I started to notice some strange behavior around the eaves of my garage.

Turns out what I have in my yard are not actually bumblebees but carpenter bees. Their shiny abdomens set them apart from bumblebees, which are completely covered in dense hair. Carpenter bees use their mandibles to bore holes in wood, where Miss Queen Bee lays her eggs.

I recall seeing one guy buzzing around the entire garage for a few days. I've learned that he was likely a scout bee, looking for just the right spot for his Queen to lay her eggs. More bees came. They would chase and tangle up with each other, dive bomb me, and then repeatedly return to hang out under the eaves. Research tells me they were anxiously waiting for the arrival of Her Highness.

Perfectly round holes in the eaves of my garage, compliments of the carpenter bee.

I believe that She has now arrived. The trumpets have sounded. Yesterday, the frenetic buzzing about moslty  settled down, so I took a closer look-see. What I found are 1/2-inch holes in my wood (no drill bit used here). Carpenter bees tend to do this in sheltered areas, and into bare, unprotected wood. How gracious of us--we've provided just that for them.

The question now is: Can I live peacefully with these guys? The males, though aggressive in their protection of their territory, cannot sting. Females rarely do, unless provoked. Males have white or white faces, and females have black faces (I need to remember that). They are phenomenal pollinators, and I will need that in the coming weeks. I'll be planting watermelon, cabbage, Brussels, and kale in this area.

More bee holes, above planting beds 2 and 3.

But what about the damage to my garage? Are the bees done boring for the season? If so, perhaps I'll let them be for now, and treat the wood in the fall, hoping they find somewhere else to nest. Reportedly, rubbing or spraying almond oil on the bare wood detracts them. I've also read that the holes can be filled with a small ball of foil and caulked. Do you have any other, chemical-free suggestions?

I'm heading out now to work the soil directly under this area. Black-faced Queen Bee, oh hear me: Please keep your distance. I greatly respect you, I do, and your stinger bee butt.