Unknown Assailant

Something is still getting into the garden, and I really don't know what it is at this point. The green beans in the 2nd bed were all snipped off about 2 inches above the ground, and some of the swiss chard was also chewed up. Not to mention he ate the summer squash as well. I went all around the perimeter of the fence and couldn't see any areas where they might have been getting in. Whatever it is, its eating nicely!

I replanted the green beans again today, as well as the spinach bed. There is a certain sense of futility in it, but as long as I have seeds I'm going to keep on trying. I also bought another watermelon plant and some larger green bean seedlings at the nursery. I want to see if the larger green bean plants also get eaten. If they do then I can pretty much rule out insects. I saw a chipmunk in the garden this morning, but I can't believe such a little guy could have done so much damage overnight.

I sprayed the tomato leaf tea all over the tomato plants and the lupine to try and kill off some of the aphids. I want to hold off on using any more insecticidal soap until after the lady bugs arrive and I give them a chance to bring things under control. Until then though I'm going to have to keep a close eye on the tomato plants to make sure the aphids don't get out of control on them.

Still, even with so much of the garden being eaten by various non-human elements of the world, I find I really enjoy spending my days out in the garden. I'm sure that this time next year it'll be looking even better thanks to everything I've learned so far this year. There are days when I want to spray pesticides on my plants to kill the invading bugs, but when I see the beneficials crawling and buzzing around it helps keep me from doing so.