PORCH PONDERINGS

Ugh - bugs.

We're heading down to the finish line in the garden and I think the bugs know it.

I for the first time have potato bugs. These little guys showed up a few days ago with a whole army. So hubby and I have been picking them off, putting them into a 5-gallon bucket with a thin layer of Lysol. (My friend used to pick them off when she was little and get paid a penny a bug.) That is as far as we go with pesticides. We don't spray for bugs in our yard or garden. I want bugs, the good kind, and bees and birds. Insecticides and pesticides are bad for all those. I did see some ladybugs in the garden. Good. I also saw a praying mantis type thing today. Good. Also lots of bees. Good.

In my garden, I have lots of potatoes, kale, beets, carrots, tomatoes. I also have some butternut squash coming on. I didn't plant that. I guess it's just a 'volunteer'. I also planted some cantaloupe, but it may not be ready before the weather turns cold. We also have a raspberry plant, but it never produces berries. So it just happily sits in a corner.

Grasshoppers are also trying to wreak havoc this year. But we read somewhere that baking soda hampers their ability to eat. So we've been spreading that about. They seem to be a little affected. Not eliminated, but lessened a bit.

So we're dealing with some hot temps for another day or so, then back to manageable 70's and 80's. But it's summer. I like hot. I don't have a problem with hot.