Thorns in My Side

I spent most of today planting eggplant and taking care of odds and ends around the farm.  There are so many good things happening in the garden right now I almost feel like I shouldn't dwell on the negative.  Especially this early in the season...I know there will be plenty of time to complain about pests and problems as the season goes on.  But to say everything out there is smelling like roses wouldn't be a very accurate description at any point in the season.  

So, right now, two thorns in my side.  

Cutworms.  I've spent way too much time already this season replacing the seedlings they are taking down.  They have absolutely hit in our tomatoes and squash and the only thing that keeps them from completely devastating us is that I so over-planted these seedlings in the greenhouse.  Daily I make the rounds and pop new seedlings from the greenhouse into the holes the cutworms have made in the rows.  Early this spring I mentioned that we made cutworm collars out of toilet paper rolls for our broccoli and I think that really helped.  Unfortunately at the time we planted tomatoes we were out of collars.  We tried a second home remedy of placing toothpicks on either side of the stem as we planted (you can see them in this  picture).  I have a LOT of proof that toothpicks do not deter cutworms.  Luckily, we were just given a garbage bag full of toilet paper rolls.  

The second thorn in my side...

Pigweed.  The first one I've seen this year.  I haven't spent a single second dealing with this devil weed yet this year but the thought of the hours that I will spend dealing with it put a black mark on an otherwise beautiful day.  On a brighter note, I haven't seen blister beetles yet.  And everything in the garden does smell like honeysuckle right now.