2015 Pests, Disease & Intruders

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Parsley worm, progeny of Black Swallowtail butterfly

Some of the usual suspects were back on the scene this year. A few veterans found other work in the neighborhood, and a few greenhorns hit our streets as well. Here’s a parsley worm chomping its way through our herb garden. We know that the lovely Black Swallowtail butterflies we’ve seen flitting about are their parents, and we know their preferred plants to lay eggs on, so we know which ones to pull now. A few inevitably make it to maturity, but they mostly confine themselves to a couple of their favorite spots, and we have enough to spare a leaf or two.  Continue reading 2015 Pests, Disease & Intruders

2014 Intruders

A few of the unwanted guests in the 2014 season.

The twin nemeses of this urban gardener. Are they collaborating in their dark ways? Morning Glories, beautiful as they are (and they are lovely to behold in the morning as they unfurl, only to close their blooms by afternoon), really have a way of sneaking into anything they can and strangling whatever grows there. Squirrels took a large share of the produce this year and last. For some reason in 2015 they found other realms to ravage. Typically they take a bite of a nearly ripe tomato or cucumber and discard it, only to do the same thing to another one and another one. Very inconsiderate.

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Twin evils of the garden in cute disguises

Continue reading 2014 Intruders