Japanese beetles

I came outside on Saturday to find Japanese beetles attacking my basil and pepper plants on the deck. It didn't seem like they had found the plants in the garden box yet and I didn't want to give them the opportunity. A quick trip to Southern States and $20 later, I had a bag-a-bug trap just for these pests. It's built on the principle of pheremone attraction. The scent attracts the bugs to the trap where they fall down into an hourglass shaped bag that keeps them from getting out.

Let the harvest begin!

Aside from today being Independence Day for the U.S., it's also the traditional day that tomatos begin to turn ripe. I've had a couple dozen greenies just hanging out on the vine for what seems like forever but with no sign of turning red. That is, until yesterday when I came out to find two that had begun to ripen. I knew that they'd be ready on the 4th and indeed, they were. I entrusted the picking to my wife and son and they actually came back with three instead of just the two I had seen yesterday. They're small but they make me proud of my garden just the same. Happy fourth of July!