Garden Fodder

My grandfather was a big gardener. He (with permission) knocked down the fences on either side of his back yard and made a huge 3 lot garden. He grafted lemons, oranges & grapefruit on one tree. He had an avocado tree and a raspberry bush (where I lost my front tooth munching on those succulent red berries). There were always veggies for the neighborhood and all my friends. I didn’t appreciate it until many years too late. I used to hangout while he worked in the garden.

If I stayed long enough my grandmother would invite me to dinner. It was simply good food, mostly fresh from the garden. It wasn’t until I moved to Grass Valley that I became really interested in gardening. My husband built me the best garden, fenced from deer, with raised beds to un-invite gophers. I am slow to start this year. I realized I’m a month late on the sugar snap peas & lettuces already…yikes. 

The first garden I grew here was lush, green and full of bugs eating my vegetables. I was devastated. Not being a bug lover but, wanting to garden organically, I read that there were such things as “beneficial” bugs. I was dubious but motivated to learn more about this. I learned that the beneficial bugs will eat the bad bugs. I got a bit more excited about bugs. I wanted to share this because lady bugs come in two forms, the young larvae and the round orange beetle we know and love. The larvae are actually voracious eaters too. So if you see the little black and orange goobers, don’t step on them. They are good! (Check out the lady bug larvae eating an aphid). Good girl!