Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Creepy Crawlies

So I've finally fed my garden, it's been a while, and I'm really really really bad at that, because it is an overly stinky job. But I did it. I knew I needed to, my tomatoes are getting some yellowed leaves and my zucchini was looking crazy weird. I can't stop all of the water from the crazy storms we get from this heat, but I can feed these plants if it is a potential nutrient deficiency. So I did that this morning.

This afternoon, I went out to check on everything. I saw a lot of little cherry tomatoes turning color, but I'm saving those for my hubby when he gets home from work. He likes that size more than I do. I also found these:

I ran inside to look up squash bugs because EG mentioned a potential for them if I didn't remove all of the leaves from my zucchini plants. Sure enough. Squash bug eggs. I didn't remove all of the leaves like I had been told. I took off a lot of them, but I felt like I was greatly destroying my plants by doing even what I did. Well, I hacked away at them after I saw this. So they are some scrawny zucchini plants out there. I have yet to get a zucchini from them, so what will it hurt I guess.


So after hacking away at the zucchini leaves, I scraped these eggs and threw them into a tupperware of soapy water, and just as I was going to throw the leaves away I spotted a potential egg laying monster. I'd hate to think of someone watching me do this, (fortunately, my neighbor ladies left town today) but I jerked around like a little girl as I dunked this guy as quickly as I could into its soapy death. I wanted to be a bug scientist as a little girl actually, so the description is a little off, but considering this bug wasn't out to get ME, you'd think I could have calmed down a little. It's dead. I'll be on the look out from now on. I really really hope I'll get some zucchini this year though! I had horrible experiences with squash vine borers last year, I don't need something extra to hinder me.

So, now I've got this crazy feeling like something's crawling on me. Like the lice lecture in nursing school. I think my arm actually got irritated from rubbing against the zucchini leaves, but I'm having a hard time shaking it. This gardening stuff can be gross.

5 comments:

  1. Well, if you've got squashbugs, then they should arrive in my garden pretty soon! Yeehaw!!!Time for some carnage!!! Heh, I like destroying those things. Oh, and the eggs make a "pop" noise when you take your finger and press them against a piece of wood or something...Hehe...

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  2. I've never removed the leaves, just scraped off the eggs.

    Garden stuff can get gross. I remember the first time my mother saw me picking bugs and she thought someone had possessed her daughter. I would never have been caught dead near a bug growing up. It's amazing what you'll do when you have a vested interest in something.

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  3. Ugh, I hate squash bugs! I didn't plant any this year! But my Japanese Beetles arrived yesterday. I always know immediately because the first place they go is to my grape leaves. Healthy yesterday morning, looked like lace by night, ugh!

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  4. Oh my, you all have some nasty bugs to deal with! Thank goodness SVBs and Japanese Beetles don't visit my garden, the sowbugs, earwigs, aphids, spider mites, etc., and let's not forget the rodents, are bad enough.

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  5. Ok yuck! I hope I don't see these in my garden. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Why was removing all of the leaves so important? Couldn't you have just squashed the eggs?

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