Two Feet in the Dirt

I get a lot of questions about insect pests at the markets and people are usually surprised at the enthusiasm with which I talk about them. It’s hard to be an organic farmer without developing some level of interest in insects and I find them fascinating even though they can drive me up the wall at the same time! The last two years, we’ve had somewhat low levels of several of the pests we deal with yearly, including Japanese beetles (which munch on the leaves of pretty much anything) and Harlequin bugs (which target kale, collards, and other crops in that family.) At the same time, we saw an explosion of beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and assassin bugs. This year, we’re noticing the opposite, with the pests making a heavy early entrance. It reminds me of the population curves you learn about in biology, with predators and prey increasing and decreasing in an inverse relationship to each other and it is amazing to watch this cycle play out in real time. 

In contrast, other pests that were a big problem for the last few years are having significantly lower impacts this year, such as the cabbage loopers that munch away at cabbage and kale leaves. We’re also seeing early evidence of some of my favorite beneficial insects- the braconid wasps whose larvae parasitize the giant tomato hornworms that can chomp through huge areas of tomato, pepper, and eggplant plants in a shockingly short time. The above picture shows the first step of this parasitization process- the eggs of a braconid wasp laid on a hornworm, which I found on a tomato plant this morning!

Below is this week’s harvest list. You’ll notice that a few more summer crops are making an entrance! And we are beginning to notice the first bits of color appearing on the cherry tomatoes, so tomato season really is right around the corner! We look forward to seeing you at the markets this weekend.

Farmers Katie & Mike

Harvest List:

• Lettuce salad mix
• Arugula
• Hearty salad mix
• Cabbage
• Kale
• Collard greens
• Rainbow Chard
• Beets
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Beans
• Eggplant
• Garlic