All posts by minster

Humanities and Social Sciences

The good guys

These are the real superheroes of the garden.

I know, I know I’m not supposed to take sides. Insects are amoral. They’re not inherently good or inherently evil. They’re doing what they can with what they have.

Squash bugs and corn aphids and fall armyworms aren’t TRYING to carry out a campaign of destruction. Lacewings and ladybugs aren’t choosing the path of righteousness, or deciding to be superheroes.
I know, I know.

But if there were a god of cucumber beetles, I would be in big trouble. I have been on my own campaign of destruction.

I’m the one who finds good and bad out there in things because I planted the corn and I want it to grow. What eats the corn I call “bad” and whatever eats what eats the corn I call “good.” That’s more about me than it is about the aphids.

But ladybugs are on my team. And every time I see larvae or those yellow eggs or those orange pupae, or those lovely dotty adults (the imaginal stage!), I cheer.

Fight the good fight, ladybugs.

beans!!



Cindy took her pre-K classes outside this week.
They found the beans in the Three Sisters garden.

We have rattlesnake pole beans and Tongue of Fire beans, which both do double-duty: good fresh when they’re not too big, great dried after they’ve been left on the vine.
There are Kentucky Wonder beans out there, too.

Before the kids came out, those  were just Kentucky beans.

It’s the children who brought the wonder.

Garden Workshop

Today we met to plan, these brave teachers and me. They teach kids grades K through 5. They have ideas and energy. So much energy they couldn’t help themselves as we toured the butterfly garden. They started yanking out weeds left and right.

I took my sweet time talking while we were out there. Why turn down helpers?