Tuesday, June 30, 2009

I planted Camote....but...what are these????



I planted camote tubers (cut in half) in black plastic pots indoors during late spring, when nights were still too cold.

One day when it was like summer hot, (though still cold at night) I let them out on the porch to "harden" them prior to transplanting to my veggie garden.

That afternoon, when I was about to bring them back inside the house, I noted holes on the leaves...what the????



Found these golden specks on the underside of the leaves...wow...so beautiful...wish I could use them for jewelries...



A closer look...



I googled and found out they are tortoise beetles...specifically infesting the family of sweet potatoes...(Ipomea? if I remember it right)...apparently they do not last all summer...

Darn...I planted sweet potatoes mainly for the leaves...I miss blanched sweet potato leaves eaten with bagoong isda with some kalamansi juice (I have to sub with lemon), some ginger and onions, tomatoes, plus fried or grilled tilapia or bangus....

oh well.... :(

Clematis


It looks so artificial with all the big blooms it has...but this is real...growing under the shade of an arbor...very eye-catching! It motivated me to buy two clematis plants...I hope they, too, will have blooms as prolific as these!