Organic Gardening and the bugs…the friendly ones
A few ladybugs on my carrots
First of all you need to READ the packaging on everything you buy!
That’s a note to self.
And one that would have served us well several days ago.
The story…
My mother who said she was falling into a depressed state over all the damage unknown bugs were doing to her collards (if you have any tips PLEASE leave a comment) asked my husband if he could pretty please pick up a few ladybugs and preying mantis on his way home.
This is the first year she has attempted to grow collards so we weren’t sure what to expect or really how to grow them well.
So he, my husband, lovingly and to the delight of Peanut brought home to mesh bags. One filled with 200 ladybugs and the other with a preying mantis egg casing. He handed over both to my mother with some cryptic tips about hanging the bag of the egg casing and just dumping the ladybugs wherever she wanted them.
Later on she (my mother) came over and dumped some on my garden with a promise to share the preying mantis when they hatched, or emerged, or whatever.
We laughed and played with the ladybugs. Peanut collected about 50 in her bug box and we, thinking they knew that our little porch was home, went smilingly to bed.
The next day we counted maybe 10 ladybugs and about 5 in the bug box since my husband had let the rest out into the garden in the wee hours.
Today I find none on the porch and two in my mother’s garden.
And by the way she (my mother) came over this morning to let me know it might be a good idea if we had read the instructions on the ladybugs.
As nice as the ladybugs are it’s their babies we want and they were supposed to be laying little egg bunches here and there within the garden. We were also supposed to water where placed them. We aslo are supposed to be on the lookout for their babies.
The preying mantis will be tiny and the look of their little cocoon thingy won’t change as they emerge.
I found out more about them here Preying Mantis school
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