Farmgirl ISO Ladybug

Our garden isn’t exploding as quickly as I had hoped. The herbs are doing well, but the seedlings are struggling more.

(Of course, I imagine expansive food forests, foraging walk-abouts, and returning to the kitchen with my arms laden with produce. Don’t tell Farmer Bill. I think that dream is probably more like 4-5 years away. Perspective may be an issue for me.)

Researching organic ways to combat bad things, I came upon the idea for Ladybugs. I know, I know! No brainer. But, more often than not, on this Permaculture path, we find something that someone else does and immediately say, “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?!” Sadly, we’ve all been trained to first reach for the chemicals rather than natural ways.

Later, I found Ladybugs on Amazon . I ordered them a few days after and immediately turned uber-excited. I love nothing better than adding a new component to our polyculture. I try to be cool, but it doesn’t quite work out that way. I think I clapped and danced on my toes when I found the package in our mailbox.

Per the instructions, they said to release them in the morning or the evening, watering first. The ladybugs would be thirsty, and water meant they could breed sooner, too.

The next morning, we prepped the beds.

All ready.

 

I opened the box. They were crawling all over inside their netted container.

Time to set the ladybugs free.

 

They’re already congregating beneath leaves and breeding, too. While they won’t fix all our garden ills, it never hurts to add Ladybugs, so that’s a win-win for our little farm.

Next up? Nematodes and a flock of Praying Mantises.

And worms. Definitely more worms.

I found this native guy in the garden yesterday.

It made me so happy, I decided he needed his own photoshoot.

Until next time.