Well, it's me and the aphids out in the garden...

And we have several things in common, too. We both like kale. We both like broccoli. We both were happy when the lovage bloomed. We like the roses. We are both very excited when we see a ladybug, albeit for different reasons. I guess I am sort of rooting for the ladybug, though I do respect the aphid for his abundance and optimism and flexibility with food choices. And the little ladybug larvae eat even more aphids than the adult lady bugs.

But then it comes time for me to eat and the aphids and I part company. At first I tried to get the food without hurting the aphids. I have to be honest. I am perfectly happy letting the aphid go about his or her business, eating away in the garden, even if it means that I didn't get to use any of the dill I planted. Even if it means them coating the backs of the kale plants. I thought about not planting broccoli next year because it was just too much for me with the aphids all up in the little flowers. The guy at the market where I bought a new dill plant told me I really should do something about the aphid problem I have. I guess I am hoping the ladybugs will do their best and I will just carry on.

I could not get to the food without hurting the aphids. I tried brushing them off, then shaking them off. They squish pretty easily, for those of you who aren't familiar with them. They are a type of soft-bodied insect and that means they squish. So then I tried to rinse them off kind of nicely, you know? But they, um, held on. So then I did some soul searching, some deep thinking about the matter and realized that if I was going to eat any of the plants that the aphids were already enjoying (without eating the aphids, I mean. Because I did consider that option as well...) I was going to have to get rid of at least the aphids on the plant I intended to eat. And that, finally, meant hot water. The aphids let go of the plant once they were immersed in hot water.

I realize that I am sounding like a thoroughly modern, disconnected-from-my-food-source kind of person. Naive. What I am going for is mindfulness with my food, connection to my food. Questioning. Connection and understanding of how my food comes to me. Somewhere, I hope, between my neighbor who totes a backpack of pesticide/herbicide shooting it out at whatever is not wanted and the Jains, sweeping brooms out in front of them, not wanting to harm anyone in their path. I am going for knowledge that I have to kill the aphids (or eat them) if I want to eat the kale, but not killing the aphids just because they are there. Acknowledgment that we both live here, we both eat kale. And lets face it, if I kill off the aphids just because they are there, eating kale I haven't gotten to yet, what would the ladybugs eat?

So then I forged a compromise with the aphids. The compromise is this- I break off parts of the plant where they have really dug in, parts they are just coating with their little soft-bodied selves. Then I put those parts into a little compost heap I have right over in the garden, branches and dead plants and such. They get to stay there and eat away, moving on to other plants when they are done. I take the other plants inside (with some aphids on them) and put them in hot water. I feel pretty good about it and feel like the aphids might be ok with this compromise as well. And I pay attention when I have to put the plants and aphids in hot water. It isn't pleasant but I am doing my best.

Tonight we had kale, fresh from the garden with garlic and onions and potatoes, also fresh from the garden. The aphids had kale too. In fact, they are still having kale...



Cardoon flower, sweet pea flowers, bee haven!


Big bucket o' garlic!