Pests and a predator

Despite possible appearances to the contrary things are not always rosy on our suburban North Carolina homestead. Just when we think the garden looks great and all the plants seem healthy and happy along come the pests.

Aphids are always an issue with our tomato plants and this year has been no different. How they find us and how they manage to get to the plants I do not know but they always appear, multiply, and suck the juice out of our plants. A couple seasons ago they were so bad that we had to try something more extreme than the normal dousing in insecticidal soap, which seemed to have no effect on the creatures other than to make them slippery. After some web searching we decided to give lacewing larvae a shot so we ordered some from Planet Natural. They arrived as eggs that we set out in the garden just before a week-long beach trip. When we got back the aphids were gone. These dainty insects are of course harmless to humans but they spell doom for aphids.

This year I have seen several adult lacewings flitting about the garden so I'm hopeful that our initial planting of eggs has resulted in a thriving colony of these aphid munchers.

Another encouraging sign of aphid control is the increased number of ladybugs we're seeing on our tomatoes this year. We're trying to teach our three-year old son that ladybugs are a beneficial insect so any that we find in other parts of the yard get transported to the garden.

Unfortunately the aphids aren't the only things that have harrassed the tomatoes. A few weeks back I was finding small caterpillars - maybe 3/8" to 3/4" long - on several of the plants. I'm not sure what these were but they had almost black bodies with two parallel yellow/green lines running the length of the body. They weren't doing extensive damage but were eating some leaves. We collected these caterpillars by hand and offered them to the chickens who eagerly scarfed them up.

Of course we've also had a few hornworms but thankfully these were found, plucked, and also turned into chicken food before they destroyed an entire plant. It's amazing what these things can do to a tomato plant in no time. The best way I've found to spot these guys is to look for their droppings, which are also apparently called, "frass". Their droppings are dark brown to black and have a sort of kernel-like texture. The dark color helps the frass show up easily against the green of tomato leaves. Once you see the droppings look for the hornworm to be somewhere close by - usually a few inches higher up on the plant.

Here's a shot of a new pest that I think might be a strawberry leaf roller. Anyone have any experience with these? This is our first year with strawberries so I'm not as familiar with their pest species.

While these pests are certainly doing no good to their host plants our chickens have benefitted from their presence in the form of tasty snacks. However, the chickens have invited a pest of their own, a predator really, in the form of a black rat snake who has been stealing eggs. This is gardening related because the chickens eat scrap produce and turn it into droppings that get mixed with their bedding and turned into compost that goes in the garden where the whole process starts over.

Here's the snake making his getaway after an egg run:

I trapped him once and released him deep in our woods. No good. He came back the next day and ate everything laid that day. The next time I found him he was actually camped out inside the chicken coop digesting the day's eggs. I trapped him again and this time drove him to a natural area next to a county park about three miles from our house and released him. We've had no egg stealing since.

Moose photos

Mox's moose post now has some amazing photos. Take a look.

Moose: Or, encounters with an Alaskan-scale garden pest

They come out at night. Big, voracious creatures intent on feasting in your garden. It's no story to scare small children, although they can be every Alaska gardener's nightmare: Moose.

Moose 1, Fern 0 - Unfortunately this fern has still not rebounded from the beheading it got in early May.

Moose need plenty to eat all year long. In fact, they need about 30-60 pounds of food a day. Willow and aspen trees are among their favorites. Tulips and lilacs are especially tasty treats. This season a yearling who has decided he likes our neck of the woods has taken out ferns and bergenia, and did a real number on a wild plum tree. "They'll eat anything!" says Marge, our neighbor and resident garden expert.

This tree was stripped of bark in April. It will most likely survive, but will be scarred for life!

When I first moved to Alaska, Marge advised me to remove the willow from my yard, as it's especially attractive to them. When I balked at the task, I was told it was easy: Just tie the trunk of the tree to my car and drive away, tree, roots and all! Now that's a true Alaskan solution for you!

For years Marge had observed a particular moose mama every spring as she'd bring her latest calf around to teach it what was good to eat up and down the street. Being a neighborhood of avid gardeners, there were plenty of delicacies to be had. "Eat this here," the mama seemed to say, and, "Now, eat this one here."

One day a calf was taught a new lesson - by Marge this time, who spied the munchers in her backyard. The mama moose had moved on, but Marge caught the calf in mid-bite. She yelled, "YOU PUT THAT PLANT DOWN!" The calf startled and its expression almost said, "Mom, you didn't tell me how to handle this one!"

The happy ending? Once the calf ran away, Marge successfully returned the plant to its home in the dirt.

Connie, another gardener in the 'hood, relates a similar story: "I was watching and tending a neighbor's small garden while she was away. I kept the little patch weeded and watered. Her only cabbage was getting big and beautiful and I knew she would be happy with it. The evening before she returned, a moose came and plucked that cabbage right out, roots and all. I forgot myself for a second and started running after the moose, making lots of noise. I got close enough to see the mosquitoes hovering over its hair; then I came to my senses and realized I was too close for comfort and better run the other direction!"

I haven't been gardening in Alaska long enough to have lost anything really precious - yet. This year I planted tulips for the first time in my life and they are coming up nicely. But every morning I venture out fully expecting that Mr. Yearling will have devoured them in the night, just before they can bloom. If it happens, I'll probably be disappointed. And I'll regret I didn't get the chance to teach him a lesson in the manner of Marge and Connie. The lesson I'd teach? "HEY YOU! Here's the dandelion patch. Now get busy!"

Mail carrier Terry Chase provided this photo of a mama and baby resting contentedly, no doubt after a nice forage.