Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Good News/Bad News

The good news is, we have cherries that are ripening up!


The bad news is, we have a million aphids on our cherry tree!


The good news is, we also have some Ladybugs on our cherry tree!


Let's hope they're hungrier and faster than the aphids...
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13 comments:

  1. LizMay 22, 2012 at 3:04 AM

    GO ladybirds~! Those black aphids are just so hard to get rid of - I get them on my alliums - they seem to particularly like garlic chives. The cherries look great though.

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    1. MelissaMay 22, 2012 at 7:20 PM

      Ugh...they're awful! At least we can see which leaves they're on since they curl up so badly...

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  2. AngelaMay 22, 2012 at 6:44 AM

    We had a really bad infestation on our peach and plum trees. We only saw a few ladybugs and then BAM! everything bad disappeared. In no time there were ladybug larva/alligators. The fruit was not touched, just the leaves...and finally both trees are in full recovery. They do a great job.

    Your cherries look awesome! Yum. :)

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    1. MelissaMay 22, 2012 at 7:21 PM

      Oh man...I am very hopeful that our little ladybugs will quickly reproduce :-) Thanks for the hopeful insight!

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  3. 1st ManMay 22, 2012 at 7:00 AM

    Cherries? Wow! Awesome. We could never have cherries down this way (though I am trying to grow something that's SIMILAR to a cherry but it's still NOT a cherry, ha). Hmm, do any of your nurseries sell ladybugs? If you could get a bag of them you could set them loose in the tree and maybe they could win the war! :-)

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    1. MelissaMay 22, 2012 at 7:22 PM

      I've been thinking about buying a package or two of ladybugs...that might have to go on the list for next weekend if we don't see the aphid population dwindling and the ladybug population exploding :-)

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  4. MonikaMay 22, 2012 at 7:54 AM

    Good luck with those aphids. Hopefully, the lady bugs will do their jobs. I can't believe you have cherries. We won't get cherries until August. You are so lucky!

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    1. MelissaMay 22, 2012 at 7:23 PM

      Yeah...we're anxiously awaiting the first cherry to ripen up! There are not a ton on the tree, but I am hopeful they will be delicious ;-)

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  5. FiddlerchickMay 22, 2012 at 10:18 AM

    Those nasty little black aphids apparently love nasturtiums, which I like to plant because they're beautiful and add a lovely decorative touch to salads. Around this time of year, the aphids swarm the nasturtiums and mow them down instead of the other plants, and the ladybugs set up a nursery in the nasturtiums (last year it was the asparagus), so I guess my point is that at least in our case, nasturiums make a good "trap crop" for the black aphids :)

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  6. FiddlerchickMay 22, 2012 at 10:18 AM

    Oh, and would love to be able to grow cherries here! Aren't there any varieties that like "endless summer" weather ;)

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    1. MelissaMay 22, 2012 at 7:24 PM

      Ohhh...thanks for the nasturtium trick! I just bought some new nasturtium seeds, too! Perfect timing :-)

      I wish you could grow some cherries, too...but your bananas would make me happy right about now ;-)

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  7. JodyMay 22, 2012 at 12:00 PM

    Yuck, I've heard soapy water kills aphids. I'm not sure what it would do to to ladybugs though.

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    1. MelissaMay 22, 2012 at 7:24 PM

      Hmmm...I'll look into it! We've been wiping them off by hand with water from the hose! Such a pain!

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