CATCHING THOSE CRITTER BUGS

Something has been destroying my kale seedlings, as well as my blue lake beans, and noshing on my sunflower (remnants from last summer) as well as a couple of tomatoes.  Yelling at the bugs to cut it out hasn't been helping, and I don't know where to purchase ladybugs here in the city.  The next step was to buy some sticky cards.

Reading this article from the University of Illinois Extension helped me get a better idea of what might be going on.  I did some research on various cards that work in the garden specifically, and ordered some Universal Insect Monitor Cards.  They have two sides, one yellow and one blue, both sticky.  They also have a grid to help monitor the buggers.

Here's a card by my blue lake beans

I put the cards out today, and hopefully with the help of my oh-so-smart biology friend and the internet, the case can be solved and my seedlings can grow in a much happier state.

Poor kale! :(

Card by the sunflower

If y'all have any tips or suggestions on what else I could do in the meantime, it would be much appreciated! Fingers crossed we catch these little buggers!

AND THE WAITING BEGINS...

My last two garden beds were completed a week or so ago, and since the cold spell finally broke last week I decided to get my gardening in a little early.  I also really needed the therapy of being outside and working with my hands (aside from knitting and sewing).  Many, many bags of soil later, we have the 2012 garden!

Many of the seedlings were still small, but I felt like they would do better in the warmth of natural sunlight and getting a light rainfall on them.  I also sowed many of my greens, as well as beets and baby carrots.  The one thing I learned this season is that seeds from last season are funny little things, and when you start transferring soil from one bed to the other, things transfer.  I have A LOT of randoms in many of the beds (mostly flowers) but I decided to just let them do their thing for right now and hopefully they will add some spice to the bed later on in the summer.

My green onions are doing well, as you can see!  I'm pretty excited about these guys, being something I have never grown before.  Might have to do some thinning out soon; they're looking a little all over the place.

Mamma also bought this lovely flower combination to put in the garden for some color while we wait...

Have I mentioned how impatient I am?

Is it July/August yet?