Morning Garden Walk: Mystery Greens and Pest Problems

At the end of summer, I started scattering seeds: radishes, parsnips, romaine, arugula, spinach, bok choy, baby butterhead, black seeded simpson, carrots … you get the picture. Every seed packet that allowed fall planted was scattered over several plots. As I waited for seeds to sprout, and as they failed to or the sprouts were shriveled in the heat, I seeded more. I added straw. I watered. Then, the tropical rains came. I had no idea what was planted where, and some seeds were washed to pockets near the brick edges.

Enter mystery green #1. This morning I tasted it, and my mouth was surprised by a spicy peppery flavor. The general consensus on Twitter is that I’ve got a patch of baby arugula.

And now for the major issue in my fall garden – chewed up leaves. Whoever is the culprit has devastated nearly all my attempts to grow romaine, Swiss chard, and various types of Chinese cabbage. Do I have a rabbit? I caterpillar? I see no little green poops on the leaves as I did when the worm/caterpillars attacked the broccoli two years ago.

Of course, this sweet face with me in the morning always brings me joy!

For those of you just starting out gardening, never underestimate the power of an herb garden. The herb beds nearly never disappoint and are fairly low maintenance. This English lavender was looking very sickly in the spring, but is giving me a second show of beautiful blossoms as it seems to have recovered after a heavy pruning.