Well, now that the Japanese beetles have chewed my garden to bits and multiplied beyond description… we have finally bought, assembled, and hung those bags that have the pheromones. Wow, do they work. The bags fill up fast with thousands of beetles…. and they still keep coming. But we had to do something, and while I hate attracting them in buzzing swarms around the bag locations, we really had no choice.
My husband has a morbid delight in collecting and destroying so many beetles in such a short time. For me, it is a little too late, as my plants are so terribly marred by the beetle invasion. I just hope it helps for the coming years. I really, really hate Japanese beetles.
On the subject of insects, more bad news is the identification of West Nile virus in neighboring towns. They have been fogging our areas.
The Garden Good News
Have seen some butterflies finally. a monarch and a black tiger swallowtail.
While weeding have come upon a number of praying mantis after several years of no-shows.
I am harvesting my sweet peppers, and one of my tomatoes is turning red finally. I took no chances, harvested it unripe and it is ripening on my counter now.
Thank God for the farmers market and Whole Foods. I have been eating the most wonderful sweet cherries from WF, and the local market has provided Red Haven peaches (the best quality and flavor for that variety for years), and sweet corn – which I’ve written about. Fresh baked bread, too.
I bought some “Incredible” variety of corn, but didn’t cook it yet. Thankful for good summer eating. Sort of makes up for all the horrible bugs of this year.
