Caterpillars

I went out this morning to check on the garden and water things if the sun had dried everything out. It hadn't so I moved into Patch. I sat on the sidewalk and had a good look at my radishes and noticed that almost every single one except for the smallest had a visible red bulb coming up out of the soil. I then noticed that the biggest bulb belonged to one of the shortest plants. I don't think that their ready to harvest just yet but a few more days and I think we'll be having radishes at the Cortes house or they will, not me. I only planted them because I am a beginner and wanted something that was quick and easy to start with... I'll be giving this crop to my mom and the next rotation of radishes to AFAC. I figure that's a great way to do it since I promised them to my mom but also want to give to the hungry of Arlington. 

While I was looking at the radishes, admiring the bulbs, I noticed that there were tiny bright orange-red bugs all over the brick and all over the radish leaves. They look like a version of tic that sucks plant blood. I think these tiny insects are the cause of the enormous holes in the radish leaves. Luckily, they aren't affecting the root development and they are easily killed. When I saw them all over I went inside to make a spray bottle full of soap and baking soda to spray on the leaves. I sprayed on the radish leaf covered with red "tics" first and it killed them. The mix didn't just wash them off or cause them to scurry, it killed them. After seeing that the mix actually demolished them I sprayed the mixture all over the brick walls and strawberry buckets. To be honest I think the brick wall is what attracted them to my bed to begin with, I used to see them all over the brick ledge of my window as a child but never saw them otherwise. So maybe a brick bed isn't such a good idea. 

I've been googling all day and finally found them they are red spider mites and I did the exact right thing by spraying them with dish soap but unlike my initial thought it won't keep them away. The soap only kills this type of bug on contact. I'll put out some diatom-earth tomorrow, if I'm not too scared.

After spraying with the mixture I went inside to make a vinegar, soap, & water mixture for the weeds. I started spraying the weeds when I saw it... yes, the first caterpillar of the year. A gypsy moth larvae. Yuck! It's the insect/worm I fear the absolute most. I fear it so much I based my decision on wether or not to start a garden on the fact that I didn't see 1 caterpillar last spring. So, I figured they had kind of died out of this area. I hope I wasn't wrong in assuming that because if they start popping up all over I won't be gardening until they turn into moths. That's probably weeks. I didn't amend the beds or plant the sweet potatoes because every time I tried to go outside I felt a caterpillar crawling on me. Yeah, they drive me extremely crazy. I hate them. Here's hoping I won't see anymore. They did cut down the tree where they used to nest so hopefully that was a rare straggler. 

One a Penny

Baking soda...

I went out today and made sure that everything was still moist and didn't water. I've been trying to control myself when it comes to watering. Part of the reason my strawberry plant died last year was that I over watered it, burned it with garlic water "insecticide", and lacked drainage. So I am trying to control my impulse to water more and more. 

I went into Patch after checking on everything in Potagar and noticing that a bundle of weeds have grown in the empty bed. I checked on everything in Patch and then noticed that there were little holes in the radish leaves. Not all of them but some of them. Something tiny, like an insect, is eating my radish leaves. I don't know that, that means that my radishes are unhealthy but that will definitely make them unhealthy if they aren't already. All of the references have said that healthy plants mean less bugs but I don't see any unhealthy signs except for the holes caused by the bugs. So I went inside and made one of the sprays I read about. I mixed half a tsp of detergent and 3/4 a tablespoon of baking soda with a gallon of water. I mixed it up and then put it into a spray bottle. Since the radishes were getting eaten before I could test I diluted the spray with a little extra water and sprayed all over the radishes. I'm hoping that a diluted version will rid the radishes of the few bugs there are now and won't burn my plants. 

Pennies and Vinegar...

After I finished doing that I went inside and mixed up a batch of 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of detergent with a gallon of water. I grabbed the bag of pennies and mosaic glue. I put the mixture into another spray bottle and took all of the things I'd grabbed outside. I sprayed the weeds in the empty bed with the vinegar spray. I spray them liberally, hoping, that would take care of them for awhile. Then I went into Patch sat down opened the bag of pennies and glue and started gluing pennies to the side of the 8G container. I was putting glue on the back of each penny, at first, but that was taking too long so I spread the glue out in a straight line around the entire bucket and started sticking the pennies on. Before I did any of that I sanded the bucket a bit so they would stick on better. When I was done it looked festive and it'll keep the slugs/snails off my strawberries. I've read, in several places, that copper and snail/slug slime cause an electric shock for the bug, so they avoid it. I initially looked for copper tape but the hardware store and Home Depot didn't carry it, in stores or online. I looked online to buy some but I couldn't find it. I'll have to look again and more thoroughly for the Potagar beds but for my buckets pennies were just fine, better than fine, they go with my low cost theme. I moved on and completed the 5G bucket. I was going to glue a couple around the base of the Shephard hook holding the Topsy but I thought again. I'm going to wait until I find the tap for that. I don't want to add even a gram of weight to that thing. 

I gathered everything up and went inside. 

Gluing pennies on to the 8G bucket. 

Completed 8G bucket. The glue will dry clear.

Both buckets finished. I think they look decorative.