Operation airlift

I keep laying down the ladybug law in my garden and it’s starting to bear fruit.

Well, more larvae then fruit.

Sometimes plants that don’t look obviously aphidy can also have a small or large infestation. My sage in terracotta that’s right below the hanging tomato basket has been lousy with ladybug larvae- a sign that their food is there too.

Sage is pretty aphid resistant, in that infestations do happen but generally don’t damage the plant too much. But the larvae laden sage leaves gave me an opportunity to easily move my army.

Three healthy but buggy tomato plants in a hanging basket? Three leaves of sage each complete with one larval agent of aphid annihilation.

Anyway it worked. Within a few days the white aphid corpses started piling up around the stems and new growth emerged that looks bushier and healthier. There’s still a handful of aphids but their numbers are greatly reduced.

I’m going to unleash another package of the ladybugs soon, and I’ll make sure to dust my sage plants in the hope of creating another breeding ground.

Operation airlift was a success!