Something has been enjoying these mesclun mix before me and I can't ID what it is/they are. It's interesting that how the strawberries and the two-star lettuces next to it are spared.
I was almost driven by either insanity or obsession to catch the culprit - to no avail. I tried scattering eggshells around thinking it will deter some creepy crawler (that's what they say online). Obviously not.
It's rather interesting how grocery stores insulate us from the reality of agriculture and nature. The produce they sell are "perfect", flawless, shiny, hole-free. But what I am learning is that that's not how it really is. Nature is as complex as it is diverse and unless you're spraying pesticide all over the place, bugs and caterpillars will find their way to your garden. They, like us, need to feed to survive, too, you know? From an ideological perspective, I'm choosing my own homegrown, imperfect-looking greens because I know exactly what went in that crop. Perfect-looking crops that have been inundated with toxic pesticides? Too good to be true, so no, thank you.
I'm implementing some organic and natural control methods for these annoying and anonymous critters. but the best one I have tried so far is to simply have healthy plants sowed in nutrient-dense soil. Like humans, if plants' immunity is built up through adequate nutrition, water, and sunshine, I think they are still bound to survive, critters notwithstanding.
But I also acknowledge that there comes a point of surrender or acceptance that sometimes, in life, you win some, you just gotta lose some.
So I'm switching strategies. I'm keeping these holed-up greens undisturbed and letting them, whoever they are, have at it. It appears that their salad of preference is mesclun, which is a-okay since it is SUPER easy to grow from seed. Call it a sacrificial lamb, if you will.
As long as at the end of the day, even though I let them have theirs, I can still have mine.
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| Fresh salad on the dinner table for two! |
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