Gardening in my Roots, Hot and Dry

Lettuce season is over--I spent part of my weeding time yesterday pulling up bolted lettuce stalks for composting. I like this year's strategy of planting three different varieties rather than a mix. Remember next year: the Romaine is not as tasty as the others, but it's slower to bolt.

I've had a major hatching of these odd, creepy bugs on the tomato plants. I suspect they're not a good thing but it's not like I can hand-pick them. And I'm certainly not going to use a pesticide.




A trip to a Shades of Green Nursery gave me a possible solution to my squash vine borer debacle. A very knowledgeable gardener--heck, hey may have been the store owner--knew the problem very well.  He quickly repeated everything I'd already learned, then said that if the eggs are in the soil, a good dusting of diatomaceous earth would cut the caterpillars to shreds as they tried to crawl to the stem.

So I've dusted and will see the results. I'm not sure if it works when the eggs are laid on the plant. Seems like in that case, they'd just crawl down the plant.



The sungold tomatoes are being kind to me.

And the sage--isn't this an odd color for sage flowers?  I thought they were purple!