Woooo! I harvested my first bean crop of the year today. FIVE WHOLE BEANS! We had them with our dinner and they were delicious.
In other garden news, we got a bag of lucerne mulch (basically munched up hay) today and I spread it over the weed matting in my veggie patch. It looks much nicer than the ratty old newspapers I had before. It also has a pleasant “barn-y” smell. We’ve also declared war on caterpillars, which are eating our basil to bits. We got some Pyrethrum spray, but actually picking them off the plants seems the most effective strategy. Plus it’s very satisfying to chant “Die, die!” as you stomp them on the pavement.
Danielle
November 15, 2008 — 11:56 pm
If you’re looking for something organic to keep the pests away, my father-in-law makes his own by soaking garlic cloves in water for… I don’t know… a day? And then he sprays that water over their whole garden to keep the bugs away. It seems to work too, from what I can tell. (And we try to raid their garden quite regularly.) 🙂
jp
November 16, 2008 — 8:25 am
Caterpillars and snails love the basil.
Anything you can do to get rid of them would help.