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bpfahnl_nh

Aphids!

bpfahnl_nh
20 years ago

Hello all! I was inspired by Eliot Coleman and decided to try winter gardening in my unheated greenhouse this year. We live in southern NH, zone 5. I am growing salad greens, mache, spinach, carrots and parsley. I tried claytonia as well but started too late.

Anyway, after about 18 inches of snow falling just outside the greenhouse over the past 2 days I decided that it would be just too cool to enjoy a fresh picked salad for lunch. I picked carrots (which are super sweet, Mr Coleman is absolutely right about their winter virtues) and greens. Well the salad greens look beautiful, but I was SHOCKED to find scads of healthy, thriving aphids on the greens! LOTS of them buggers. The greenhouse has certainly been at least in the 20s for the past several days. Either the aphids don't mind freezing temps, or the remay cover is a super efficient blanket. Has anyone else found live aphids on their winter greens? I've also had caterpillers (army worms?) eating my spinach and mache. I've been hand picking them as I find them. YUCK. I was hoping the freezing temps would take care of the bugs.

Is anyone else out there in New England growing winter produce? Is anyone else growing mache? I hate to say it, but despite looking beautiful it has this "rotten" tasting quality to it and just doesn't taste sweet or nutty at all. Is it my soil perhaps?

Comments (5)

  • Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening
    20 years ago

    Here is a link which may be useful to you. You can spray them off the plant or use insectical soup which defeats the purpose of growing winter produce.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Web Pests & Diseases Forum

  • John_D
    20 years ago

    Aphids can be consumed raw (without a detrimental effect on the human gastric system), but you might want to toast or fry the caterpillars first.

  • bpfahnl_nh
    Original Author
    20 years ago

    If I pass that tidbit of info on to my husband he may NEVER eat his vegetables!

  • Loretta NJ Z6
    20 years ago

    I don't grow greens in the winter as described by Elliot Coleman although I read his book and would like to some day but I do get aphids underlights in the winter! Last year, I received some rooted rose cuttings and I was washing them off all winter. I couldn't wait until it was warm enough to get them outside. They lived though. This year I brought in some helichrysum and purple irisine only to throw them back out again when they became infested. I don't know how they got into my basement. I imagine they came in with the plants and multiplied.

  • oldhb
    19 years ago

    I'm writing this while in France, where my daughter lives. Next to tending to my grandson all day, one of the pleasures of staying here is eating french bread, real french mustard and my daily portion of mache salad. Any ideas about how to grow this in the mountains of VA will be greatly appreciated. Going home Sunday.

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