A gardener is one who attempts to achieve a vision in defiance of nature. And nature likes to throw out roadblocks and obstacles to remind the gardener just who is in charge. Every year there are challenges that the gardener must overcome. And every year it is something different.
Last year the Vintage Garden was attacked by caterpillars. The year before that it was hordes of ravenously hungry bunnies. This year has seen a series of whammies making life in the Vintage Garden a cycle of hair-pulling frustration.
A wet and cold winter gave way to a very hot and very dry summer. We went seven weeks without measurable moisture here at the Vintage homestead. I had to apply supplemental water twice to the borders over the course of June and July, or else even the drought tolerant plants would have suffered.
Then the heatwave that hammered large parts of the country made its presence known here. Temperatures in the high 90s and low 100s for several weeks throughout most of July made for a miserable garden and an even more miserable gardener.
Oh, and MrsVintage and I both came down with Covid at the same time.
Fortunately, things are starting to look up. The temperatures have dropped down closer to the seasonal average. In fact, we had several days below the average, as much as 10 degrees below the average!
We have also received 2 1/2 inches of rain in the past week or so. True, 1 1/2 inches of that rain came during a 30-minute deluge, with winds that ripped branches from trees and rainfall so heavy that it overwhelmed the storm drains causing flash floods nearby. But rain is rain, and I’ll happily take it however it comes.
Additionally, Mrs. Vintage and I have recovered from Covid.
A plague of locusts
The latest insult to injury, though, is that we have been swarmed by locusts. Ok, they’re not really locust, just grasshoppers. But I have never seen so many grasshoppers here at the Vintage Garden. There are thousands of them! And they are devastating everything in their path.
I don’t know if there are so many because of the heat and drought, or if they just happened to discover the Vintage casa and decided to partake of the vegetable smorgasbord set before them.
Below is a closeup of one the little bastards.
To give you an idea of the devastation, most years the trellis in the picture below is covered by hops and clematis vines. When covered, it looks beautiful, and the lush vines help keep the front room cool by blocking the sun’s rays.
The grasshoppers devoured the upper portions of the vines, and it looked so awful, that MrsVintage went out and cut the vines down by 2/3rds.
Sad, isn’t it?
We could spray bug killer to get rid of the grasshoppers, but such sprays are indiscriminate. Sure, they’ll kill the grasshoppers, but they’ll also kill bees, ladybugs, praying mantises, worms and microscopic organisms leaving the garden more like a bug version of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Those sprays aren’t too healthy for humans either.
So, we’ve resorted to using a homemade spray of water, apple cider vinegar and dish soap in hopes it will repel the greedy little buggers (pun intended). Time will tell.
If anybody has any suggestions for getting rid of grasshoppers that doesn’t involve the bug version of VX gas, I am all ears.
On the plus side, I haven’t seen any of the furry, four-legged locusts (bunnies) around much this year. I’ll take that as a win.
