It looks like we have flea beetles in the garden. Ugh! I’m going to put in some mint plants, which are said to repel them. Mint spreads like wildfire, though. I’ve read that it’s recommended to plant mint in sunken pots to keep it contained. It also looks like we have some voles–there were two holes today that were not there yesterday.
I was checking out other participants in One Local Summer to see if any others were from Portland and found you. It seems we have the same mode of travel for getting to the downtown farmer’s market. And, this post addresses a problem we are having as well — in our case, it is with the basil and I am quite distressed. Do you know of anything other than the mint to scare them off?
Hi Joan! Onions are supposed to be a natural repellent like mint, if you want to do companion planting. Another possibility is diatomaceous earth, applied as a dry powder to the plants. Some people apply a garlic spray. I haven’t tried any of these myself. So far, I’ve had the most success with hand picking and killing them. I think the beetles have a short life cycle–with luck, they will all be gone as spring turns to summer.