Here we are, a week after leek moths invaded the garlic, gazing at a healthy scape. If you’re not familiar, scapes are the curling tips that emerge as the garlic gets close to harvest. They’re also clearly a favorite target … Read the rest
Much of veggie farming is playing garden defense. Yesterday’s garlic surprise attack was handled as an immediate emergency action, by hand-picking larvae before they could really tunnel in. The other no-chemicals approach is row cover, which seems to be laid … Read the rest
Checking for scapes today, only a couple of days after the last all-good garlic check-in, and found absolute carnage thanks to a leek moth invasion. For years, I’ve heard about these voracious leaf devourers ravaging alliums—garlic, onions, leeks—in the general … Read the rest
As a foot tall (30cm) version of myself, I can imagine strolling down the straw-mulched path between garlic beds, under the arch of slightly menacing leaf blades, stepping over dandelion leaves and dodging thorny thistles—the weed intruders—while admiring the thick … Read the rest
This year, small snails everywhere! My best effort at identifying them (posting pics to the iNaturalist app on my phone) suggests they’re in the amber snail family (Succineidae). Wherever the ground is sheltered and moist, like under rocks or piles … Read the rest
Another cloudy day. The garlic is still the only thing to see as far as crops in the field. It’s looking quite happy and healthy. That’s good!… Read the rest
Considering there was nothing to see six weeks ago, the garlic is healthy, spiky and coming along nicely! … Read the rest