Garden Update 2

The ladybugs were a temporary success. For several days they voraciously ate the aphid larvae, but after a week there was only one ladybug left. Either they ate their fill and left, or they all died shortly after release. The aphid population dramatically decreased during this time, however they came back in force. Further research led me to a mix of 1 cup olive oil, 1 and 1/2 cups water and 2 teaspoons dish soap mixed in a spray bottle. I use "environmentally friendly" all-natural dish soap, so I was not hesitant to try this concoction. I mixed the ingredients and sprayed all of my plants with the entire bottle today. About an hour later I hosed the plants off to remove the residual spray and any dead aphids, if there were to be any. Upon inspection of the soil at the base of my tomato plants, I found thousands of little carcasses - what a beautiful sight!

This concoction really works! I was amazed at the convenience and efficacy of the oil/water/soap mix; I highly recommend it to anyone struggling with aphids in an organic gardening scenario. Let's hope I don't have to spray every day...

Our basil plants, which have grown to gargantuan heights, are starting to flower. Looks like the end of the season for them.

All of the pepper plants are showing fruit. The first haul, and I say that with some seriousness, looks to be over 20 bell peppers, 10 jalapenos, 2 Hungarian yellow banana peppers and 5 Anaheim peppers. The mystery hot pepper has started to flower, but we still don't have a clue as to its varietal. Keep your fingers crossed for habanero!

Our other herbs are not doing as well as we had hoped. The parsley is still relatively small, but we have used quite a bit of it. The cilantro is now dead, and we never got a chance to enjoy it. The rosemary plants are not growing out of control as they are known to do, but are still producing enough of the herb to be useful. Oregano and lavender plants are still thriving, and the oregano has been an excellent addition to our weekly meal of angel hair with white clam sauce.

Unfortunately it looks like we lost the yellow squash. This plant never really took off, and I can't tell if it was too much water or too much sun that killed it. Either way, the empty container will be home to some additional flowers this weekend.

I ate one of the tomatoes this morning, and it was absolutely delicious! Several more San Marzanos are starting to turn red, so we're hoping for a small early harvest soon. There is one Cherokee Purple heirloom tomato that has started to ripen, but I fear that the aphids have severely stunted its growth. The tomato is the size of a golf ball - our expectations were for slightly larger fruit.

More to come!