Farming and gardening is such a gamble. It's all about the weather and bugs. Either we have too late of a frost or not enough rain. There are not enough bees or we are being devoured by some pestilence.
Yes, I said pestilence and it feels Biblical in size. We are being devoured by grasshoppers. Last week we began seeing the tiniest grasshoppers I have ever seen. Every step we take through the yard is preceded by a veritable wave of half-inch long grasshoppers. This creates a disgusting problem for sandal and flip flop wearers. I do not like having sticky hopper glue between my shoe and me, and right now it is a reality every time we go out. I have taken to wearing tennis shoes or walking in a strange, stiff gait that keeps my foot pressed against my flip flop at all times.
When we came home from my mom's Sunday, I discovered that in one day they had eaten in entirety five feet each of lettuce, kale, spinach, and carrots, 5 peppers, three squash, and a row of sunflowers. There was serious damage to the hollyhocks, tomatoes, and beans. They had just found the flowers and some of the tiger lillies had so many bugs that the plants were invisible.
Organic gardeners, this is where you stop reading. I put on the old clothes and mixed up seven spray. I cut the broccoli that was ready and the little bit of greens still there. This was beyond any nice measure I had. Either I got out the big guns or there would be no garden at all, so after I gathered what was ready to eat, I sprayed. I sprayed the baby trees, the flowers, the garden, the asparagus - it all was being attacked. It just is awful to spray this stuff on my garden, but it was the choice I made.
I hope the rain last night and tonight will drown the little buggers. In the meantime, I ended the day on a hopeful note. The green beans are too far gone to make so I planted pumpkins in their patch.
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