Cabbage Loopers

I defy you to justify the existence of the cabbage looper.

We had an unusually hot summer in Western Washington this year and I fervently hope that is the explanation for the unusually large number of these little beggars in my garden, at least compared to any of my previous gardens. I've never had a garden suffer so much damage as I had this year.

Virtually 100 per cent of the damage was caused by cabbage loopers.* If someone had asked me six months ago to pick up a wiggly, green caterpiller in my ungloved hand, much less smash it between my fingers, I'd have told them to take a hike, yet that's exactly what I found myself doing in my frenzy to rid my garden of these destructive pests.

How destructive are they? The damage on this cauliflower leaf was caused overnight by a single cabbage looper! Since I was committed to a pesticide-free garden, hand-picking was my primary weapon, aided by a surprisingly effective spray of diluted Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Yes, it kills insects. Yes, people put it on their babies. But who am I to judge.

I picked hundreds of these pests off my kale, broccoli, cauliflower and Chinese mustard, but my lettuce wasn't immune to damage, especially the green oak leaf lettuce. My Red Sails leaf lettuce suffered very little damage and Flashy Trout's Back Romaine none at all.

I sincerely hope that a return our normal summer weather will translate into fewer cabbage loopers but I am not going to take any chances. My mantra for next summer? Floating row covers.

*Surprisingly, slugs were a non-issue during our hot summer, although slug damage is picking up now that the weather has cooled off.

Garden Helpers

The good gardener labors tirelessly in her garden, battling the elements to produce a good crop. The smart gardener uses all the technological means at her disposal to achieve the same. But the wise gardener is willing to take help wherever she can get it. Even from spiders.

We had a bumper year for pests in the garden, meaning it was also a bumper year for garden spiders. I took to carrying around a stick as I walked down my garden paths in order to knock down the many webs. This being a more pleasant option than knocking them down with my face. Even though I detest spiders, I welcome their presence in the garden, knowing that they're my staunch allies in the battle against the bugs.

Sometimes your helpers aren't home when you come knocking. I can't say that I'm exactly sad when that happens. Empty spider webs are much more fascinating to me than spiders.

Sometimes, though, even I can make an exception. I apologize for the quality of the video; it was taken with my iPhone. Most of the jiggling happened when the wind blew the spider in my direction and I had to leap backwards, lest the spider infringe into my personal "spider safety zone."

The other garden helpers that established a noticeable presence in my garden this year were tree frogs, like this adorable fellow, hiding amongst the cucumber vines. I love these little guys and only wish I knew how to attract more to my garden.

One helper that was noticeably absent from my garden was ladybird beetles and I'm not sure why. I may resort to importing a supply next summer should they once again choose to boycott my garden.