We have been struggling with some kind of mite on the plants. First we lost the peas, the plants slowly died off and eventually all the pea pods had some kind of maggot/larvae inside of them, and now they have moved on to the strawberries.

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At least we got quite a few meals out of the peas before we had to clear the plants, but we hadn’t even had a strawberry yet off the strawberry plants, as these are the ones we grew from seed. What ever it is that is killing the plants I really hope we can get rid of them.

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Tony had a search to see if he could find a more natural way to get rid of the bugs, as we don’t want to use any harmful pesticides of chemicals. So we tried various concoctions using things like, baking soda, dish soap and cooking oil. I don’t think they are working, but I will keep a close eye on them to see if the situation improves, or if they are a lost cause.

Running into set backs like this, is the reason we have started planning our off grid life and started with growing food first, so we can learn ways to keep our food source safe. Weather it be effective ways to kill harmful bugs and mites or just that we may need to cover them to better protect them.

In other garden news, the out side peppers have suddenly gotten big and are just about to flower, and the indoor ones with peppers on them are growing nicely. We have a couple of pumpkins growing that are a pleasingly good size. Although some of the leaves are not looking in a good way, so thats another one to look into, could be some kind of plant fungus.

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If anyone knows what it is that’s eating the strawberries and has any tips on how to save them, please let us know.

That’s all for now. Stay safe and stay well.

Kiera & Tony