War Declared on Aphids.

See this beautiful plant? The planter and plant were Chad's gift to me for my birthday. The planter - like a new window - is a small thing that goes a long way to making the house more homey. I guess the aphids in the neighborhood thought it looked homey, too. Because, with lightening-quick speed, the plant was filled with hundreds of aphids. I read that once you can see them, you've lost the war. Wait for some predators to move in. So I did, but the predators weren't coming. So this weekend Chad and I bought a ten dollar bag of 1500(!) lady bugs and released them into the yard at dusk, after watering, as directed on the lady bug package. We spent the rest of the lighted evening watching the ladies wage war on the aphids. I guess they were hungry after being in a mesh package at the garden store. Of course, when we woke up, there were about three lady bugs left on the plant. But there were also a bunch of aphid carcases.

How our Garden Grows

After some success with the toms - around 60 or so cherries and pears with more on the way, we decided to try our hand at zucchini and okra. The zukes are an incredibly satisfying plant to grow. They are fast. The seed packet claims 55 days from germination to stomach. It's not a joke. I look at them before I leave for work, and by the time I've returned, they've grown. I look at them after dinner, and when I wake up in the morning, they've grown. Fast.


The okra are hardy and beautiful. We've had 100+ degree heat now for forever, I mean, for a month, and the okra just keep going. In the heat of the afternoon, the other plants have droopy leaves. The sun oppresses them. But not the okra. Their green leaves and red stalks soak in all the rays they can get.


The zinnias are also doing well in the heat. Their leaves are a favorite snack of some crazy, tiny red and black grasshoppers. The zinnias don't seem to mind too much, and the grasshoppers must have a hard time finding something green to munch on in this drought, so we leave them alone.