I plan on using a doctor bronners castille soap mixed with water spray but I'd like to know what I'm dealing with first. Besides the leaf damage the plants continue to grow just fine. I have been searching the internet for a few days and I can't seem to find anything like this.

==>> brilliant.. i am glad you insist on an ID.. BEFORE your start messing around ..

second ... why not just figure out how to post a pic.. so we can help you ... too many things chew on leaves ... to do it on words alone ...

and finally .. moving from basically houseplants.. to mother earth.. i suggest you go a bit zen on her ... things in the garden are NEVER PRISTINE ... and you should not really have to react to everything ...

i think you note.. that if vigor is great ... and there is no harm other than cosmetic ... there simply is NOT usually anything worth reacting too ...

the real key here.. is that there is normally some balance with predator.. and prey ... but if you go fixing one thing.. you might whack it all out of balance.. and up.. what i call.. loving them to death ....

seriously .. i used to be a preventative chemical warrior [i grew hybrid T roses] .... now.. 12 years later on 5 acres.. where it simply came down to not being able to be such ... i find that 99% of things resolve themselves ... with little or no significant damage ... and no intervention by me ...

go zen .. and get us those pix..

ken

ps: if things are drying to fast.. do you have mulch???

Thank you very much for your advice. I was kinda hoping I could take a more zen approach to all this. Its just after reading the onslaught of pest control that you can find online, organic and chemical alike, it started making me feel like I needed to nip every tiny little problem in the bud now before my whole garden goes down the drain. Which really is against my nature. I'm really a very live and let live, go with the flow kinda person, and in fact that's why I love gardening so much, because it keeps me calm and centered. So it was very refreshing to read your take in all this. As far as the pics are concerned I just am waiting on getting my camera back, which should be today so I should have those pictures up by tomorrow. Thanks again!
Sara

Oh and I was actually just out this morning looking around for mulch that hasn't been treated with any chemicals which I found so that's another thing I'll be doing in the next few days.

Unless attacked by a herd of locusts, insect damage on foliage is usually purely cosmetic :-)) Descriptions like "swiss cheese" and the plants involved (dahlias and basil) would lead me to believe that slugs or snails were at least part of the problem and I would never think twice about baiting for them.

Otherwise, in your gardening bag of tricks, a strong stream of water is invaluable for removing a lot of insect pests. And I'd also have at hand floating row cover (aka Remay or harvest cloth) for any veggies susceptible to any flying critters that hatch voracious babies. I also encourage as many as birds and of as many different types as I can - birds are nature's greatest insecticide in addition to being vastly entertaining creatues in their own right.

Personally, if it is not an edible like lettuce or other greens, I practice Ken's zen philosophy. The bugs have been munching on plants since long before we were around and they all seem to manage. Just squint a bit and you won't notice the damage :-))

thanks gal ...

listen.. even simply watching what happens.. is a great part of gardening ...

when it all boils down.. who cares if you lose a plant or two.. heck.. they die gratuitously anyway ..

so why not.. watch.. learn ... and when you get to the point of understanding.. in advance.. what is a real threat ... dont worry about it .. again .. so what if a plant dies

the logic is akin to mushrooms .... when i cut down a tree.. flush to the ground.. i look forward to the next few years of mushrooms .. its really fascinating to watch what pops up.. different shrooms over the years.. as they decompose the buried wood..

i cant tell you how many peeps run here.. and want to know how to eradicate them .. and i'm like .. HEY!!!! .. this is a FREE SHOW .. relish the moment .. and put away the flamethrower.. lol ... crikey man.. relax ...

go zen.. EVERYTHING.. and i mean EVERYTHING .. is a learning experience.. in the garden ... little is catastrophic...and needs remedy ....

oooohhhhhmmmmmm ...lol

ken
PS: so... if you cant stand there and watch.. get an adult beverage.. and a lawn chair.. and just sit there and watch .... just dont get addicted.. lol ...

pps: while you are sitting there slightly drunken.. zen this one ... many of the japanese beetle traps.. use a hormonal lure .... key word LURE... so they are selling you something to ATTRACT them to your yard ... so you will buy more traps.. to ATTRACT MORE ... do you see the beauty of it ... after many beverages.. i figured out.. that i would give the lures as gifts.. to neighbors upwind.. and let them attract them to their yards .. lol ... but after sobriety kicked in .. i realized that you cant fight the JB's in the air ... you should attack them.. in the ground.. at grub stage ... but that was in my lawn warrior days .. and now i just ignore them .. they make things ugly.. but rarely kill them outright .... but sometimes they do.. so what ... i gotta go .. bye