I made a mistake. When I imported the hostas, and assumed the damage was merely over-sunning. Without hosing them down to remove any pests, I plonked them right next to my maybe-pumpkin. And only after the move did I notice the webbing around the base of the hosta stems. Spider mites. Curse me, I brought in spider mites.

I started to mist the area with neem each evening, but then someone suggested I toss in some ladybugs. Apparently one can BUY ladybugs. A quick trip to an upscale garden center, and I had a Tupperware container of roughly 500 ladybugs. There’s a method to incorporating them into the garden to increase chances they stay in your garden instead of immediately flying off. First, release at night, since they tend to fly during the day. Second, moisten the area, to entice them to stay put. Third, release in batches every couple of days, so as not to put all your eggs in one basket, and to create an ecosystem of ladybugs at various phases of reproduction. Luckily, we had rain for nearly a week, so it was optimal timing for release. Fingers crossed!

I released them in two main areas: the hostas/pumpkin with the spider mites, and in the zucchini garden bed, where I’m dead certain the ants are farming aphids, the bastards. There has been a certain malicious satisfaction in the feel of releasing a ravenous army hoard upon my enemies.

While examining the zucchini plants during a morning misting, I noticed two bees nested in a flower under a leaf, all safe and snug, and this alone makes this particular endeavor entirely worth the effort, despite the reality that I almost certainly will have no zucchinis this year.