The Mustard Menace

Day by day, we learn a little bit more about life through our gardening adventures.  Today’s lesson: well, there are a couple.

(1)   Pay attention. 

(2)   Don’t make assumptions.

            Here’s the backstory.  My husband and I planted our mustard greens (and various lettuces and herbs) a few weeks ago.  The mustards were looking fairly vibrant, bright green and getting taller all the time.  A few days ago, I noticed they had a few holes in them.  The sign at the gardening center where we bought them had warned us about pests and that if you see any, you should pick them off and spray with an organic pesticide.  So I even knew to look out for “loopers.”  The problem here is that I have no idea what a looper looks like.

            Today I walked out to find half of my mustard green leaves had been chomped off.  Ok, not cool.  Then my neighbor, who has a prime vantage point of the raised bed from her kitchen window, gave me a tip.  She had seen a squirrel in our box yesterday.  Ah-ha!  The squirrel, who has been eating out of our compost pile, who poses for photo shoots to win us over, has totally crossed the line and rampaged our mustards.  Immediately, I’m Googling squirrel solutions.  Cayenne pepper sprinkled on the plants repels squirrels, owl decoys have been known to help, and there is such a thing as a solar-powered vibration-emitting stake that cures your squirrel issue. 

            Later this afternoon, I was out filling the rest of the bed by planting kale, carrots and brussel sprouts, when another neighbor from across the street (who also gardens) came over to chat about our prolific lettuce and offer tidbits from his experience.  Maybe the third lesson from this venture is that it takes a village to raise a crop …  Not only did I learn I had planted the kale too close together, I learned the real source of our mustard menace.  Can you find it?

There he (or she!) is on the lower part of that second leaf.  Unbelievable that even though I was forewarned about loopers on mustard greens and cabbage, I could not find this little bugger to pick it off.  I had blamed the squirrel.  Now that I know what I’m looking for, loopers beware! 

It is surprising how eager our whole street is to offer cautions, advice, and even espionage for the sake of our crops.  While I hoped this whole gardening thing would draw me closer to God and make me feel more connected to the earth, a quite happy discovery has been the community that emerges around seeds in soil.  It’s like it’s inevitable.  Something very captivating and even awe-inspiring about life springing forth from the dirt. Everybody wants to be a part of that miracle.