So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

A. Anon

UPDATE on Garden

CORRECTION

Please change the phrase - on page 327, paragraph 4, line 6 of the update log – which reads "he pea'd all over the fence", but should read " he had peas all over the fence "

End of correction


KimB

Wasps. We have wasps in the garden. Yellowjackets to be more accurate.

I have never had to deal with wasps much before. We had some yellowjackets in our previous home but they never really bothered anyone and built their nests high up under the eaves of the house. From time to time our gardener would knock down the old nests which were small.

Not long after I started the garden, a few yellowjackets started to build nests nearby. The nests were tiny and I dealt with them by driving off the 2 or 3 adults with jets of water and using a flat shovel to smash the tiny 3 or 4 cell nest. They moved on.

Now I notice that they moved on to a spot above a window on the front of the house that has a small overhang. I've been watching them and the nest is getting quite large. I don't think I've seen a nest that big before and they are busy expanding their condominiums. Allen noticed that there is another nest on a neighbor's house that is much much bigger than the one on ours.

The nest is not one of the super-sized ones that have been found and they are not really bothering anyone. According to Wikipedia yellowjackets eat other insects so they are not really all that bad providing one doesn't get stung of course. However, I will be monitoring their construction and expansion plans in case they exceed their building permit.