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?

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/.

Following Up on The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Good news! The Very Hungry Caterpillars are nowhere to be found. In total over a three-day period, I found seven of what I learned were cabbage worms happily noshing away at my cabbage and Brussels sprouts seedlings. Since picking the worms off and taking steps to avoid moths from laying their eggs on my plants to start with (I covered the pots with an old lace scarf thingie that my daughter had in her dress-up trunk), not a one has been found.

The Cabbage Moth lays its eggs on the underside of leaves.
In its larval (caterpillar) stage, this guy chomps right through your cabbage, Brussels, and broccoli plants.
In addition to the brown dude pictured, there is a white variety (white with black spots on its wings).

Thinning and repotting the plants likely helped as well, as did making a scene by throwing the first worm out to the birds while yelling and swearing. Surely the word on Worm Street is to NOT eat at the Urban Heirlooms Project salad bar ... at this time, anyway. We'll see what happens once the plants go in the ground for the season.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Lookie who I found, nicely disguised against my green cabbage plant. What the heck?! I had these plants outdoors for only a few hours this week. How did this guy hunt down my plants so quickly?

Research tells me that this is the bloody CABBAGE WORM! And he brought friends--I found three others so far. With nearly 200 cabbage seedlings in the works, this aint a good sign. Cripes. Caterpillars are cute in kids' books, but not so much on my heirloom plants.

OUT YOU GO ... to the birds! Before you're pecked to death, tell your friends to GETOUTTAMYYARD.

In the meantime, I understand that caterpillars loathe white flour. Upon eating it, they bloat and die. So our Cabbages and Brussels will get a flour dusting this week.

It's getting closer to outdoor transplant time ... I have a feeling that insects are soon to become my worst enemy. This means that it's also almost Jerry Baker tonic time. Do you have other natural bug control recommendations?