Little green stripey caterpillars called chenilles are all over mama’s nasturtiums, which are in turn covered with beautiful orange flowers but all of them are half eaten and look like skeletons!!! Yuk, yuk and more yuk. Caterpillars are not my favourite toys in the garden and if these bite…bad news!!!
Mama’s guru in the garden said that it’s a good thing when spring arrives because the nasturtiums are the first flowers to bloom and the worms attack the plant and stuff themselves and the little aphids show up and attack the stems and so when the OTHER nasturtiums show up later, the bugs and worms have already had their fill of the first plant and will leave the others alone.
Does mama believe this?
Sort of.
Last yeara these little suckers (which is what they are, haha) showed up on her nasturtiums in the MIDDLE of the growing season and she had to run out and cut them in half with her Fiskars—and she is ruthless when they are in the garden. She is madwoman and snips and snips. Man, I keep out of her way, believe you me!!! At least I keep my tail curled around my body and watch from a distance.
But now—they are snipped and SIX Roma tomatoes are planted with Vitamin B and a pinch of iron so that the leaves won’t yellow and they have a little blanket of straw all around them and boy are they happy.
Me, too, because I LOVE to roll in straw…
Photo to come…tomorrow.
