Day FIFTEEN

After 3 days of rain, I looked out my window and noticed half of my basil was gone. There were round balls the size of whole peppercorns on the basil leaves. All other herbs and vegetables had been spared for now. After a little google photo search I concluded it was caterpillars.

I hadn’t noticed any motion bar the odd cricket which I relocated to heaven. Obviously keeping the Sliver and Bite garden organic I resorted to placing bruised garlic cloves on the garden bed. Before dropping I squeeze the garlic between my fingers and rubbed over the leaves. Her’s hopping this resolves the issue. If the problem persists, I will cover the garden with a fine mesh.

Green caterpillar menace

UPDATE: Rubbing garlic on the leaves is not advisable. The leaves turned yellow and the stem drooped a little. As for dropping the crushed garlic clove on the garden bed, this also didn't deter any pests as I found another caterpillar a few days on.

I am not sold on draping netting over the garden bed as this prevents pollinators from visiting and can disrupt the environment.