Nasty Little Aphids

Gross picture alert! *shudder*




Alright folks. The little bastards have smothered the inside of my cabbages, prohibiting my wee ones from forming heads. I have found a minor amount inside of the cauliflowers and searched the rest of the plants which all look OK. I think I may swing over to the garden center for some lady bugs too.

I sprayed them with a mixture of hot peppers and vinegar. The powdery substance that they produce caused a bit of the liquid to just "roll off" but I hope it still works.

If I spray them off with a high power nozzle (which is recommended on several organic sites) will they just spread to the other plants or die from drowning?

Either way, any help would be appreciated.

Garden Update

I have been meaning to post an update of the garden. Yes, I have failed until now. Better late than never I always say.

Trial and error can be painful, brain racking and can, at various times, downright piss you off. We realized that we over fertilized half of the garden which has caused some minor growth stunt for half of the plants. Annoying doesn't cover the feeling, but we truck on.

Tomatoes: In the last 2 days, two wee yellow pear tomatoes have finally emerged. Yippie! At least there was some success. Now, the other yellow pear plant is in the end of the garden that we over fertilized, so it's a no go. Yet. (sorry for the blur on the photo. I wanted to showcase the little guy)



Sweet Bell Peppers: We have some new sprouts forming even in the sad side of the garden. I guess they are a bit hardier than I originally thought.


Lettuce: You guys were right. It doesn't take much for the lettuce to start, and sure enough we have several little sprouts up and running. I suspect it wont be long before i'm harvesting some greens to eat! Hmmm.. I wonder if the tomatoes might be ready then.



Cabbage: Huge leaves and i'm waiting for the centers to really take shape. Something is getting to the leaves and I have yet to catch the little culprits in the act. I am beginning to keep a watchful eye on these little white butterfly type things that sure seem to flutter around at any given time of the day..


Cauliflower: Looking good. All but one of the 8 plants has it's center formed and taking off. I just came across a cauliflower fritter recipe I tucked away for the first head I harvest.



Peas: They didn't make it. *sound of TAPS in the background* While there are a few hanging on for dear life, it just didn't happen. The space can be used for something else so we plan on pulling them out soon.

Strawberries: *TAPS* Not a happenin'! Poor wee fellas just didn't make it. Again, the space will make a good plot for something else.. just not sure what.

Patty Pan Squash: Not sure if the ground pigs are going to produce anything. But since they are pretty much still alive, we'll wait and see. If they kick the bucket, we'll use that space too. I really didn't comprehend the amount of space they require, and even though they are my favorites, they would have never been planted due to the limitations to begin with.

Herbs: All doing well except my poor rosemary. Makes me mad since that's my favorite one in the plot. For something so hardy, it's not doing well.

Leeks: No sprouts yet. I'm hoping they still germinate, but i'm questioning the quality of the seeds. Either that or it's not liking the over-fertilized side.

For a couple of folks who have never had a garden (outside of containers) I think Bear and I are fairing well. The casualties are less *knock on wood* at this time than expected. I did think the peas were doing great until we went camping. Live and learn eh?

As for other updates - it's hot as Hades here with a high of 95* so I think the kiddos and I will hide inside. We managed a new hot water tank and while I did heat water up on the stove one time, it is nice that it was fixed fairly quickly.

Sweeney Todd was awesome and we had a fantastic time. We snuck over to the balcony seats during the second half of the show since it wasn't sold out. That was sweet!

She was also invited by a friend to the Warped Tour concert that ran through here on Sunday. Her first concert and she had a blast.

All in all, everything here is well. Finances are tight, gas prices suck, but we are all healthy and madly in love and that's good enough for me. :)

Return, Return, Return

We are back from camping and had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, we returned to phone troubles (having a dial tone when it damn well feels like giving it) and the hot water heater is dead. Not resuscitation kind of dead. More like scrap yard, TAPS playing in the background. Dead.

The plummer will be here this evening while I am watching the Broadway production of Sweeney Todd with 2 teenage girls.

Bear braved it and took a cold shower, but I hauled a steaming pot of water into the stall with me which led to little or no chilly squeals behind the curtain.

I'll post a proper tidbit tomorrow, but we ARE alive and kicking.

Off to catch up with your lives... :)

Castle Mountain Here We Come!

We are heading out in the morning for our annual camping trip! All of the gear came out of the shed yesterday, checked over, and checked over again. Everything looks good!

Today, I am prepping food (baking bread etc) and cleaning around the house. Teenager has been packed for 4 days already. How easy is that? I wish I could be finished with all I need to do, but that would be to good to be true.

We'll be back Sunday - the same day Teenager turns 15. Eghads!

Have a great weekend! :)

Free Hugs and Great Fathers

Happy Father's Day to all you great fella's out there. I know I am one lucky women to have such a fantastic man with whom we created two incredible kids. Honey, I love you and thank you for all you do for us. Everyday should be your day. Did I mention how damn lucky I am?