Kitchen cupboard chemistry

Well it may very well be operator error, but the home-made pest control potion I put on my plants to rid them of hopper and aphids and the like, kind of fried the leaves. It might make a good weed killer! It was a mixture of vinegar, tobasco sauce and liquid soap. The picture shows 2 leaves on one of my cucumber plants. I did apply it on a warm day in direct sun -- probably should have waited till there was a bit of shade or until evening. It may also me that my Lavendar-scented Anti-Stress Palmolive dish soap wasn't the best form of "liquid soap" to use. Oh well, it only killed a few leaves - live and learn.

However - I was also brewing up a batch of hot pepper tea -- water, hot pepper flakes and a few drops of soap -- that is supposed to work on aphids, cabbage loppers, etc., and now am not sure if I should try it.

Another rainy day today -- I didn't even set foot out back. Yesterday I did get Emma to help me clean out the front fish pond and set the waterfall up again after Hurricane Maggie knocked all the rocks in the pond and disconnected the pump. Poor fish -- they are real survivors -- opaque water and no food for months. Now we can see them -- Ninja II and Sensei (named by anime-loving Emma). One is a koi about 12 inches long, the other is a goldfish about 6 inches long -- both spotted. I sunk a couple of flower pots in the bottom of the pond so they would have something to hide in when Maggie jumps in. I just need to remember to clean the filter ever couple of weeks to keep it from getting so disgusting. Cleaning the whole thing is such a pain.

If the rain lets up tomorrow I will work on that whole pond garden -- it's a 5 by 15 foot nook between the house and the garage -- and has been neglected all spring (we've had it blocked off since Maggie's sudden discover of the fish - it only took her 2 years). It's such a warm little microclimate that the tall lilies are already almost done blooming and the hostas are throwing up their flower stalks already.