jenny vs. aphids

the garden has been very good to us this year.
even part of the leftover garden has been super; the priests left us mint (which has been made into tea), oregano, sage (which flowered in spring) and forever bearing spinach chard (fed us from march until june and is back again)

i have had more chilies this year than ever. i used to try and grow bell peppers out here but never got many. this year i switched to cubanelle peppers for the sweet and pablanos and habaneros for the hotties. i have made some great salas from these peppers.

we also have acorn squash and zucchini that keeps rolling in. i have given away atleast fifteen pounds of zucchini this summer. i 've grown cabbage and brussell sprouts for the first time this year, they've been good - cabbage looks great in the flower garden! as well as broccoli once it's gone to flower.

but then the unwanted guests moved themselves in... the aphids! those little sap suckers moved in on the tomatoes and the bassicas with full force!

gio and i started the all out annihilation of the aphids. the battle raged on for five days. we did suffer some casualties, three tomatoes plants had to be removed. the three plants that i cut down were just acting as aphid baby makers! the poor plants had no new growth and no fruit or flowers - they were dying.

we kept up on the spraying soapy water on all the plants and after the removal of the baby making three the aphids started to die off in large number!!! and this next part i am a little confused about....... the large black ants moved in all over that tomatoes and seemed to be eating all of the aphids........eating? i am not sure but after that day no more aphids!!!!

so next year i need to do things differently in the garden, more companion planting and not having too many of the same plant near each other...... and more food stuffs......asparagus!!! and more beans....

aphids. i have learned more about them this year than i've wanted. nils told me that aphids are good for you skin....just crush 'en in!