Lots of strawberries - and lice .......

Then it has been midsummer, June is over and we are well underway with July.
The kitchen garden service has been let down as it has been a hectic June on other fronts.

It may also be the reservation of others in the deliberations surrounding the acquisition of an edible garden.

Summer time is late, grilled dinners, bright nights, winter birthdays that have pushed the party to the mild months, students (for us), Skt hans and much more.
There is a lot of fighting over the 24 hours that the day has at its disposal.
Raised beds and kitchen gardens are mentally obligatory in a different way than the ornamental garden, the stone terrace, the aroma garden - or garden you now have at your disposal.
It's a waste of food, time and money if it all goes to waste. Roses, perennials, shrubs and the like Will be coming again, no later than next year
But this is where my little undocumented and very flimsy statistical project must stand the test.
Can you, after all, benefit from it, even if you neglect it occasionally?

Status is that on June 30, I have not yet gotten thinned in carrots and beets.
It has, apparently, been so busy that the net on one raised bed has not been completely closed with the result that it is a ‘treasure trove’ of lice. I have never seen anything like that. They might have found their way even if the network had been as closed as possible….
They must be excited about potatoes, because when I had to harvest for the first time yesterday (also somewhat later than planned), there were lice all over it. On the plants, on the ground and sitting in the attic - (the inside of the net).
I lifted all the potato plants up to groom a little in the infestation of lice, threw them on the ground and took my newly purchased ‘lightweight’ gas burner. Then there was partying, so even NOMA had gotten annoyed that the idea was out.
Aphids in several varieties from flambéed to charred. The birds were euphoric; then various seed and grain mixtures, however exotic they may be, could flow in feed vending machines in stylish design - it was lice served on the bare ground that was enjoyed.
The conclusion pt. is that one must be careful to close the net at the ‘store’,
And keep an eye out - because once they come in, there is plenty of food and no enemies, so there is free play. And not least lots of time for reproduction… there you can not say they are wasting time.

Strawberry bed and crowded with ready-to-eat berries in all shades of bright red. The bird net looks like something with spring sickness or a hamster cheek filled with supplies. It bulges all the way around with tempting mouth-watering berries - they just need to be harvested ……

Strawberries in abundance. Unfortunately, we can not keep up with production. There is a bottleneck in the ‘picking department’

Something pathetic green that should have been parsley is going away. It is undulated by i.a. potato plants, which have been gigantic.
Beans and peas need to be supported and tied up to that extent - there has been a bit of a mess in them, but I still believe that it will end ok. It also depends a bit on the lice infestation.

The cucumbers just took a sprint while I turned my back so there was suddenly produced in abundance but there is now about to be eaten. They were three times the size of the level, where they are tasty… ..so a little silly - too many, too big and too tasteless.
(Harvested afterwards in suitable size - they tasted great).

The slightly too large and slightly too many cucumbers picked in a single day.

As mentioned earlier, the potatoes have demanded their place. It has cost productivity in the neighboring ranks. So i.a. parsley and spinach are sown again one of these days now that the potatoes have been raised. However, there are still potatoes in the ground.
The carrots are not very developed, but beets, beets, leeks and celery thrive. Hope the lice attack doesn't ruin it all.

-well, I was forced to spend 10 minutes online to find inspiration for biodegradable warfare against lice. The nursery had pesticides and told me that I could eat the kitchen garden three days after spraying - ohhhh - so not quite convinced. So after a bit of reading came the summer cocktail; two liters of water, two tablespoons of solid brown soap and about three teaspoons of household alcohol. There should be more alcohol - in fact two tablespoons - but it was not all green that can tolerate it (so you can try it out, I can not), so hope it goes this way. Both that there is enough for the lice to die and adjust a little so that the green survives.

Lice everywhere on the leaves (here it is potatoes) and in the top / ceiling on the inside of the net.

The beans are also heavily infested with lice.

Something that can keep lice at bay, I found out, in my superficial research, is ventilation.
I did not take the plastic off the raised beds, but just opened the 'roof part', partly due to comfort, but also thought it provided some shelter from the crosswind. It has probably also made it, if possible, more comfortable to be a high-bed luxury lice. Lots of community in sheltered surroundings.
As the astute reader may have figured out, I removed the plastic.
Thinking of spraying my mixture once more and hoping for the best.

I am curious as to whether the peas, celery leaves, fennel, etc., which have been given growth-inhibiting conditions, are taking revenge now that light and air have become available, or they are too weakened.
The leaf beds are huge, so they have been raised a bit. Soon I will see through their place in the kitchen pots so they can do good.

The beets are in full swing, some are done.

There are still strawberries that are both ripe, overripe and some have become bad, so have to go out and pick for both a bowl on the table and bags for the freezer. Some also need to be discarded - unfortunately.

Delicious strawberries.

Pickled lettuce that shoots again after mowing. But a little lousy to look at, then sows again a little later.

The first potatoes. Tastes heavenly.

Thinning is on the way and much needed.

These are some of the carrots that are thinned out. Is almost ready to eat.