Lettuce Munching Bugs
I want to know what little insect finds my lettuce satisfying enough to chew holes in it, but not adequate to mow to the ground. I’m hoping the little bastards aren’t harmful to humans because about four of them flew down my shirt as I tried to take pictures! I suppose if they bit my boobs and made them swell to the size of firm cantaloupes for a day or two I wouldn’t mind too much!
I thought there was just one type of bug doing the damage, but there appears to be at least two varieties. One has an iridescent black shell and the other one is black with off-white stripes. All I know is they aren’t ticks or ants. That is the extent of my insect knowledge.
We have romaine leaf lettuce in another bed that is unscathed, so evidently my little friends are lettuce snobs that prefer the mescalun mix. I find this lettuce a bit spicy. When Lyle tried it for the first (and last time), he acted as if I tried to intentionally poison him! I can’t say I’m too fond of it, but I hate for it to go to waste – it’s still better than paying $6 for a box of organic greens at the store. Of course the ones in a box don’t arrive with little lacy chew marks all over them!
If the bugs don’t completely chomp it away, I will be able to make a salad solely from my garden within a short time. I had a few cherry tomatoes, but I grabbed them before anyone else in the house noticed they were ripe, but don’t tell Lyle.
Sweet 100s are almost ready!
We’ve planted tomatoes for a long time, but last year we decided to try a garden. I contained my urge to rent a rototiller and dig up my entire yard… that first year was all about moderation. Hmm, I guess it plagues me in other areas of my life. Anyway, we began with one raised bed, but Lyle overplanted it so nothing did very well.
This spring Lyle and Russell built three more cedar beds and we were ready to give it another shot. Each bed still contains too many plants, but we’re moving in the right direction. I’ve been eating cucumbers and lettuce out of it for about two weeks; peppers, tomatoes, carrots, beets, eggplant and watermelon are maturing nicely. Sony is particularly fond of the pepper plants!
Beagles are partial to peppers!
When I was a kid, we lived in the country and always had a HUGE garden. I remember the torture of weeding the green beans. I’m sure the only one who hated it worse than me or my sister was my mom, who got to nag us to help. It seemed like we spent hours every week out there…then my dad would come home and survey the progress – the fruits of HIS labor, yea, right!
While I didn’t enjoy the process, I certainly liked the end product, and now that I have to purchase produce, I have to say the cucumbers out of my own garden are spectacularly tasty!
