Last month, we finally got around to fencing in the lower garden bed. In the past, I'd used some more half-assed barriers, including draping garden netting over the beds. But I have wanted to create a more permanent fence for a while, and Dakota was kind enough to oblige.

The garden now has three sides covered in chicken wire and one side hung with a large piece of garden netting, so that I can drop that side down to plant and weed. I feel confident that this setup will be successful in keeping out skunks, squirrels and, most importantly, my naughty chickens.

Unfortunately, all the wire fencing in the world can't keep out insects. I seem to have some kind of cutworm or other pest that's gobbling up my squash sprouts as soon as they emerge. I'm not really sure what to do, but I guess I might need to get some beneficial nematodes. If anyone has cutworm control tips, let me know, especially if they aren't too time consuming. I don't have a lot of time to spend in the garden these days.

So, things are not off to the smoothest start this Spring. But once I get the pest situation under control, I am hoping the new fencing, combined with a soaker hose, compost and lots of straw mulch, will ensure an excellent crop of squash, tomatoes and beans this summer.

Last weekend, I discovered these weird insects on one of my pepper plants. I have never come across these guys in my garden before, and there were quite a few of them camped out on various parts of my large Lemon Drop Pepper plant. Does anyone have any idea what they are?

The spiny, black and brown, almost prehistoric-looking insects were located at the crooks of the pepper plant where thinner stems branched off from a main stem. As pictured, there were two larger insects, and then numerous smaller bugs surrounding them. I'm not sure if the smaller insects were babies, worker drones or complimentary insects. I am guessing babies.

The area of stem where the bugs were located had some brown scarring on it, so I made the educated guess that these insects were not friendly to the plant. Happily, my insecticidal soap was very effective in wiping both the big and little spiny insects out.

So... Anyone seen these insects before? I'm really curious about them.They're so weird-looking.

Yesterday, I was out in the garden picking fava beans when I noticed a bunch of these little dudes hanging out on my fennel. At first I mistook them for ladybug larvae and got all excited. But when I looked at one more closely, I realized it was actually a caterpillar.

Specifically, this is a Black swallowtail caterpillar. Apparently, they love fennel and other members of the parsley family. These small black, white and red caterpillars will eventually grow into big, green, black and yellow caterpillars--and then, of course, turn into butterflies. I've never seen them around my garden before, but this is the first year I've grown fennel, so maybe that's why.

They don't appear to be hurting the plants too much, but I plan to keep an eye on them. I also found a few cabbage worms in the garden yesterday. Those guys can do some damage, so I picked them off and fed them to the chickens.

Last Sunday, after spending the previous day canning, I decided to keep with the homesteading theme of the weekend and plant some seeds for my winter garden.

For the first time, I staked out sections in the larger raised bed and planted my crops in little chunks. I guess this is sort of square foot gardening, although I have never read that book. I mainly did it to stay better organized and to see how different crops like different spots in the garden. I also hope it will help manage bugs, but I'll let you know how that goes.



In this section, I planted fennel, lettuce, radishes, turnips, beets, chard, bok choy and fava beans. I have seeds for spinach, artichokes and collards as well, but I wanted to plant in stages. Plus, spinach, chard and collards work well in pots, so I may end up growing most of my greens in my container garden.

After planting, I mulched with a light dusting of straw and then covered the whole section with garden netting. Netting is essential, as I have lost countless seedlings to curious squirrels and skunks. Last Fall, skunks tilled my upper bed so many times that only two beets made it to maturity. So far, the netting seems to be holding them off.



I'll plant another section in a week or two. If all goes well, I'll be able to continuously harvest throughout the winter. That's a big "if," but I choose to be optimistic.

These odd white insect pods are attached to the vine that grows on my chicken run. I noticed them a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had any luck identifying them with Internet searches. Yesterday, I decided to take a picture with the hope that someone reading this blog might know what they are.

The long, bumpy blobs are quite small, maybe 5mm, and they're brittle to touch. Most of them are clustered around one stem, but there is one sitting alone on a leaf. The pods do not seem to have harmed the plant in any way--at least not yet. The plant they are attached to is a vanilla trumpet vine.



So, any insect experts out there who can identify these weird little white things? I am so curious to know what insect emerges from this particular incubation chamber, if that is indeed what these are.

Yesterday, I was enjoying a nice afternoon in my garden when I came across evidence that one of my greatest garden foes was hiding nearby. As you can see in the photo below, there were tiny black bits of debris scattered on my tomato leaves. Looking closer, I immediately identified the bits as the dried droppings of the villainous, voracious tomato hornworm.



I have mentioned the tomato hornworm before, because it's a very common and fairly destructive garden pest. Luckily, I'm pretty good at tracking this leaf-munching menace. Following the tiny poop trail--or, more accurately, looking at the underside of the leaves near the poop--I found my culprit, chewing on a tasty tomato leaf.



This was a fairly young one, so he and his fellow hornworms (four on this particular plant) hadn't managed to do too much damage. But these caterpillars grow fast, and can really strip a plant quickly if you don't get rid of them. So, I searched the whole plant, picked off each hornworm and fed them to my chickens. I felt a little bad, but, um, well... circle of life?

Speaking of grisly caterpillar deaths, check out this scene. Moments after feeding the last hornworm to my hens, I noticed a mysterious thingy hanging from a different tomato plant. I picked off the leaf, turned it over and discovered the brown, shriveled husk of a caterpillar.



I am not sure how this caterpillar met its nasty fate. Perhaps that little insect, who claimed to just be innocently walking by, had something to do with it? I have heard of parasitic wasps that lay their eggs in caterpillars, killing them. So, perhaps that's what happened. If so, I'm delighted to have some new beneficial insects in my garden. I hope they stick around.

As I mentioned in the first half of Tip #4, in an organic garden, bugs are inevitable. Here are a few more I've encountered in my Los Angeles garden.

It's spider season at our house. To be honest, we have spiders all year long, but there are certain times of year when spiders just seem to be everywhere.



On Sunday morning, I came out to find that a spider had built its web in the middle of the living room! It stretched its silk from the ceiling fan switch all the way down to the rug. After admiring the spiders ambition, I unfortunately had to destroy it's web. It's one thing to have spiders in the garden--or even a windowsill--but quite another the have one blocking the way to the couch.



Our home hosts several different types of spiders. The ones in the corners of the window frame can sometimes make a bit of a mess. But, since we spend most hot days with the doors and windows wide open, I appreciate their help with keeping the flying bug population under control.



So, the house spiders and I have a certain understanding. They stay out of my way, and I keep the web disturbances to a minimum. It's working for us so far.

If you're growing a garden, one thing you can count on is that there will be bugs. If you're growing fruits and vegetables organically, there will be LOTS of bugs. Some will be friendly, many will be annoying and a few might be worth killing. Of course, the insects in any garden vary by region, crop and landscape. Here are a few I have encountered, and some lessons I've learned while trying to deal with them.

These bright green grasshopper-esque insects looked so lovely on a wilted purple iris blossom yesterday that I just had to take their picture. And check out those crazy antennae. They must be at least three times as long as their bodies. Oddly enough, despite their sensitive head gear, they didn't seem the least bit annoyed when I got in their face with my camera.

So, what are they? Can one of my bug-loving readers help me identify them? I'm curious about their names and wondering if they're nice, beneficial insect friends or plant-devouring foes. Either way, I'll probably leave them alone.

They better be careful, though, because they're dangerously close to the coop and two hens who love gobbling up bugs.

I think I have finally found the answer to my skunk problem.

As you may recall, I have been trying various methods to keep the skunks and other backyard animals (raccoons, squirrels) from digging up my plants. In the past, I have tried crystallized fox pee--a product that sounded really cool, but didn't work as well as I'd hoped it would.

Now, I have discovered a new skunk barrier: Critter Ridder by Havahart.


I planted a few low-water-use plants that I made with cuttings from my front-yard plants (a chocolate daisy and a weird lavender variety) down at the bottom of the back yard a few weeks ago. This is prime skunk territory. After I planted, I sprinkled Critter Ridder, which is basically a pepper mixture, and the plants have gone untouched so far. Yesterday, I planted several more plants, including some mint, in the same area. I sprinkled the Critter Ridder liberally, and when I checked this morning all the plants were safe and sound. So, I feel hopeful that I have finally found a skunk repellent that works.

I have heard that straight cayenne pepper can also keep pests away, but I am not sure if that would be more or less expensive than the Critter Ridder. For now, I think I will stick with what I know works. Or at least works so far.

The moth problem is still bad. We are clueless as to how to rid our home of them. Maybe once winter rolls around they will just freeze or something, although I doubt it since it's October and 80 degrees outside. The Pantry Pest glue traps are working pretty well, but they are too passive.

About a month ago, Dakota and I decided to take things into our own hands and get... fly swatters.

The fly swatters may be old-fashioned and a little gross, but using them is satisfying. I'd say we kill 4 or 5 moths a day, each. We haven't gotten rid of all the moths, but I think we've at least reduced the population. I still am not sure where they're all coming from or if we'll ever be able to get rid of them completely. Let me know if you have any eco-friendly tips.

So a while back I bought this product called Shake Away, which is supposed to help protect your garden from skunks and other annoying rodents. It's natural and organic, apparently, and is basically crystallized fox pee. Well, it's the granulated scent of foxes, coyotes and other predators. I thought it sounded pretty amazing, so I ordered some.



I used it in my back garden, and I think it may have helped a little, but I wasn't blown away by its effectiveness. One issue I had with it is that you have to apply it several times for the first week, and then pretty frequently thereafter. I was kind of hoping for a single-application fox pee product.

I do have a pretty serious skunk/cat/raccoon issue in the back yard though. They are constantly digging up plants and making a mess. And it's kind of scary every time I accidentally run across one.

I ordered a new skunk-repelling product this week. I think this one involves pepper and is easier to use. I'll let you know how it goes.

While I love the outdoors, I am getting pretty annoyed about the fact that the outdoors insists on coming inside my house. Lately, we've had this incredibly annoying moth problem, which I am attempting to solve through natural means. About a month ago, I ordered some Safer Brand Pantry Pest Traps, which are supposed to get rid of moths without pesticides. They work pretty well. Basically they're paper triangles with sticky stuff on the inside and a little pheromone trap that lures the moths in. I guess it's kind of gruesome that the moths get caught, alive, in the trap. But maybe they should have considered that before they started flying all over the house. The trap in the kitchen has caught a TON of moths, in fact, I would say it's full. So I am ordering a new one--along with some other organic pest control products. The moths are definitely being lured in by these traps, but, for some reason, there are still new ones showing up every day. So I may have to take more extreme measures. I ordered some Moth-Away Moth repellent and some Victor Pest Control Poison-Free Flying Insect Killer from this site called Planet Natural today. I'll let you know how those work. I also got some really cool stuff called Shake Away at the same time I got the original moth traps. It's supposed to help you keep skunks and other annoying woodland creatures out of your yard. More on that later. It's so exciting it deserves it's own post.