I’m writing this from my mom’s patio today ~ it’s an absolutely gorgeous day outside!
Not so gorgeous in my garden, however. 😦
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I had to yank out my spinach. It was a lost cause. Where life once was is now empty and barren…
I suppose I should take out the plant marker. It’s too late to replant and it’s only a sad reminder of what the bugs have stolen from me (insert dramatic music). Maybe I shall find something else to plant in its place.
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Same story with my broccoli…
I know… it’s boring and somewhat depressing to look at a photo of a Popsicle stick in the ground, but “it’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.”
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Here’s the worst part of it… since yanking out my spinach and broccoli (and cucumbers, which I haven’t mentioned yet) the bugs have moved on to chomping at some of the other things in my garden. 😦
Like my lettuce…
I wonder if I should have left the other chewed up plants in my garden for them to keep feasting on so they wouldn’t have resorted to attacking other things…
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Found this ugly creature snacking on my basil…
I was so upset that I could barely focus to take a photo of it. I killed him dead right after I snapped this. That little sucker wasn’t going to enjoy even one more nibble from my basil!
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I’m at a loss of what to do. Nothing I’ve tried seems to be working to stop the destruction. I may have to resort to spraying my garden with some sort of pesticide, but I can’t bear the thought of doing that. It goes against everything I am growing my own veggies for! But it’s one thing when you have a large garden and can afford losses here and there, be it from pests or whatnot, but my tiny garden is only 4×8 so I don’t have any plants to spare. Ugh woe is me… 
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My tomatoes seem to be struggling a bit. Not from pests, but they just look sort of scraggly to me.
I would have thought they’d grow extra happily with their cool blue cages…
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But my zucchini is doing all right.
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And my yellow bell pepper is growing well.
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I mentioned earlier that I also had to yank out my cucumbers. The bugs had completely decimated them beyond hope, so I went to the garden center and bought some replacements. I’ve never bought cucumbers as plants before, but it was too late to try and start them again from seed. These new guys look nice and healthy. Hopefully they stay that way…
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On the bright side (there’s always a bright side) ;), the Bee Balm my sis bought me is getting ready to bloom!
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~Gardening is my therapy~
Ramblings From Jewels 
I feel so awful for you, Jewels. 😦
My husband was so upset when we had those problems last year. It was like someone kicked him in the stomach, seriously. He was heartbroken.
I hope the rest of your crops go unharmed.
I’ll consult my books and see if I find anything.
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Thanks, it really is so very disheartening. 😦 I hope so too. *fingers crossed* Yes, please do let me know if you do happen across anything you think would help, that would be much appreciated!
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From everything I have read. If it is those worm things from the tiny white moths, the only thing you can do is take them and the eggs off by hand every time you see them. (Kind of hard for you to do if your garden isn’t in your yard.) Everything seems so contradictory, some say to use row covers, to keep them from laying eggs. Then others say that will help, but will then trap other pests in.
I just don’t know. Fences, row covers, all that work sure takes the fun out of gardening! I wish I had the answers. 😦
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Thanks so much trying and for looking into it! I spent the entire day over at my mom’s today putzing around my garden and doing this and that around her yard, and I did pick off a few nasty worms ~ 2 of them on my new cucs grrrr, but I can’t do this every day. I planted a Nasturtium in place of my spinach and that made me feel better. 🙂 They are supposed to make good vegetable garden companions and also be a good pest deterrent. They won’t necessarily solve my specific bug problem, but they can’t hurt…
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so sorry you’ve had tough luck with your plants 😦
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Thanks, yeah it’s such a bummer. 😦
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I feel terrible for you. I don’t grow vegetables, but I do have an adorable little flower garden that I love. I get so angry when I see that the bugs have started chomping away at my flowers, because I work so hard to keep everything looking so pretty. I also recently noticed that I have a mole burrowing under my garden and lawn, so I am sending my son on a hunt tomorrow before the ground caves in under my feet. They are destructive little creatures.
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Thanks. In the past whenever I noticed bugs bothering my flower beds I didn’t have as much of an issue using a pesticide on them because I didn’t eat those plants, but I really don’t want to resort to using pesticides on my veggies. That’s why this is so hard. 😦 I wish your son much luck and happy hunting tomorrow!
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Sadly, I have had to yank up my cucumbers and my zucchini’s as well. 😦 I can relate. I noticed that your spinach and broccoli look like mini tombstones for the dearly departed plants. May they be at “piece” in some great salad in the sky. 😉 Hugs your neck for your loss.
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They do look like tombstones. Haha! That’s clever ~ “some great salad in the sky” 🙂 I’m sorry you had to yank up some of your veggies too. Bugs are dumb. 😦
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Hi Jewels, love your ramblings, I am experimenting with some organic pest controls for my garden and I came across a recipe that might work.
6-8 cloves of garlic, 6-12 habanero or ghost peppers, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of dish soap, and 7 cups water.
Put in blender and blend and then let sit for at least a half hour then strain. put in a sprayer and spray your plants. Don’t do it on a hot sunny day, this might burn the plants. You will need to re-apply every few days or after dew and rain. I have yet to try this, but don’t have a big bug problem yet this year. This will probably keep the rabits off your spinach too. Just make sure you wash your produce well when you bring it in and wash your hands good too. If you rub your eyes after using the habaneros, it will feel like a chemical burn:)
Keep up the great postings.
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Hi, thank you! I did try a similar remedy to the one you describe ~ the recipe I used is listed here in a previous post. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be effective against my particular pest. 😦 However, your recipe sounds like it may pack more of a punch than mine, so it’s worth a try. The very best of luck with your garden, hope it stays bug free, and thanks so much for stopping by and for your comment, it’s very much appreciated. 🙂
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Sorry to hear the insects are continuing to feast on your veggies, Julie. I think it just might be time to switch gears and engage in a little psychological warfare with them. Instead of squishing the next inchworm you find, subject it to a thorough tie-dyeing using the skills you exhibited in your previous post. The resulting day-glo colored inchworm will become an object of ridicule to his pest-brethren, and will go into hiding, never to return – while simultaneously serving as a cautionary tale to any who dare trod upon your plants in the future.
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Ha ha Dennis, you’re always so clever and funny ~ thanks for making me laugh! 😀 Along those same lines.. I saw some tie-dyed looking plants at the garden nursery the other day, and thought about purchasing them to plant in place of my spinach and broccoli. Mostly just to give me something happy to look at, but I also had a silly side-thought that maybe their bright colors and freakish designs would frighten the bugs away. I opted for Nasturtiums instead because those might actually have a benefit to my garden that is more based in reality. 😉
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Good morning~ 🙂
We had the same thing happen to us as I said so we know what the buggies really go for & plant other things that are more resistant. Peppers~tomatoes~herbs~yellow squash~this is our 1st time trying eggplants so I’ll let you know~
It is heartbreaking to see our flowers~trees~veggies not make it.’
Love & hugs~Patty~
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Good morning Patty 🙂 I refuse to let the bugs win! The spinach and broccoli are a disappointment, but I can do without having to grow my own, but… I. Will. Grow. My. Cucumbers! I’ve enjoyed many years of growing them in my gardens in the past, so these “city pests” are going down! 😉 So far the new ones I planted seem to be doing all right. I’ve never grown eggplant before, hope you have good luck with it. Thanks for stopping by and commenting today! 🙂
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We also have a lot of birds that eat the bugs now because they all share the same property~with a bird bath.
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Birds are so good for pest control! We had tons of varieties in the country, but all that seem to be around my mom’s place here in the city are sparrows and crows.
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That’s tough I know~can you coax them in with seed of some kind? We only use the weed whacker on our grass~we don’t have a lot of grass because everything is growing so good on a small scale for just the 2 of us & Mama of course.
I thought you were still in the country~
I was sad not to be able to grow certain veggies because we have a nice yard for just about anything~I will let you know how the eggplant does here.
Those house wrens & robins eat lots of buggies~we have over 20 different varieties of birds during the year.
Always great chatting with you sweetie~
Our oldest kitty~Sunshine had a small stroke 2 days ago & we weren’t sure if he was going to make it Julie~very scary~but today he is a little better. We are taking care of him ourselves until we have no choice if you know what I mean honey.
Love & hugs~Patty~
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We did live on 6 acres, but my daughter and I moved to an apartment in the city (to be nearer to my family) when I got divorced last year. I am getting my gardening fix at my mom’s since she let me build a little raised garden bed in her yard earlier this spiring. Oh Patty I am so sorry to hear about Sunshine, 😦 I hope he recovers. ♥
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Thank you sweetie~Sunshine is close to 20 yrs old.
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Do you get a real spiritual connection gardening? I used to take care of a friends garden when they were away of vacation, which was often, and I would get amazing mystical insights.
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Oh definitely ~ almost any time I’m out in nature it’s a spiritual experience for me. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Sally Oberkiser Pages.
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