Several weeks ago, we noticed a growing army of aphids on the peppers and artichokes. I wasn’t looking forward to the soapy spray we applied last year for control. It was messy — soapy aphid bodies clinging to my hands. It was uncomfortable — bending over to spray the underside of leaves. It was ineffective — there were just as many aphids the next day. I wanted something different and natural pest control is something we always talked about and had yet to try. Ladybugs are the natural enemy of aphids.

It took a little looking before I found a company that didn’t charge more for shipping the little bugs than the bugs themselves. Some seriously outrageous vendors out there. Be careful.  I ordered from Orcon (www.organiccontrol.com) and the bugs arrived in a few days nicely packaged.

We ordered the 4,500 bug bag. Seemed about right for our infested area. And that night (as ladybugs must be released after dark so they do not fly away) we released the first wave.

Several days later we released the second wave. I haven’t had to spray the aphids once and we are still seeing the beneficial bugs crawling our garden. Next year I would like to order some praying mantis.

Signs of Spring are not limited to the outdoors. Actually, the outdoors is still a bit cold. Well, freezing really. 9 degrees! And as depressing as that may be, there are pleasant signs of the upcoming season in our kitchen.

I’ve prematurely started some tomato and bluestem grass seeds inside. The tomatoes have started while the grass seeds remain unmotivated. I say I started these “prematurely” as most literature I’ve found indicates tomatoes should only be planted 4 weeks prior to your last frost, and not planted outside until 2 weeks after that last frost date. You can hasten the outdoor planting with covers (waterwalls, gallon jugs, etc). Our last frost date is optimistically May 15th. That means, if these other garden people are to be trusted, I have started these seeds about 8 weeks too early. We shall see.

Boxelder bugs are another clear, yet much less exciting, indoor sign of change in seasons. (Note – the photo is a bit doctored, boxelder bugs are really black with red markings)

And they really like computers. Is the warmth? The light? And more importantly, will someone come and get them out of the house? They are not dangerous and they can be interesting – the way fish in a fishbowl are interesting – but twice now I have found myself taking a sip of coffee and spitting the coffee out along with one of these guys. They don’t taste as bad as the multicolored asian lady beetles, but they still ruin an otherwise good cup of coffee. Jake has recently taken to eating them. Thanks Jake!

 

I was tying up the grapes yesterday (never did finish) and found this creepy looking cocoon. It’s creepy, right? All green and spiny with little silk-like threads attaching it to the grapevine. Click on the image to get a better view, if you don’t think it’s creepy. 

So, I cut it off the grape vine, pretty sure it was something that might be harmful to the grapes. The worm inside appeared to wriggle when I cut the branch. These creatures are amazing, but freakishly alien. I thought for a moment it might suddenly leap from the branch and attach itself to my eye, thereby gaining access to my brain and possessing me or otherwise just sucking out all my thoughts. It didn’t. And actually, it turns out to be a nice butterfly. The swallowtail. Along the google path to finding the swallowtail chrysalis image (found on whatsthatbug.com), I came across wormspit.com and found myself captivated by the images of the Wild Saturniid Silk Moth entire growth cycle – it’s worth a look!