Today I was in my garden, which is tiny but the plants are thriving; so much so that my cucumber plant is now encroaching on my flowering red bell pepper plant. This morning I was checking the garden plants for nefarious invaders and I found cabbage worms! Picture me looking at my cauliflower plant above, seeing all the holes, and frowning. Then I look closely at the leaves and bam! A green worm! On my leaf! First of all, this is why I don’t plant cruciferous vegetables, and second of all, how dare invasive disease attack my garden!
Cue my outsized stress reaction to the garden pests. Yes, cancer trauma here we go again. First I put on some gloves, then I went inside and got a plastic knife, and then I eradicated the worms. I serial-killed five of them, and I think there were either eggs or poop down on the budding leaves so I scrapped that off the plant. I’m glad I only have one plant. I don’t know that I will be planting cauliflower in the future, I don’t like murdering bugs almost as much as I don’t like, cue my waving my hands around, another reason to have some PTSD.
After I killed the worms I found, I did a google search to find out if there was anything I could do to not have cabbage worms. First I learned that it’s supposed to be too early in the season for the worms and second I learned that if I put down diatomaceous earth that might help.
Tricky how trauma can creep up on a person. Imagine what it will be like for people of this earth over the next decade given all the trauma the pandemic inflicted. We are going to see so many different ways people try and cope--and plenty of that will be bad. It's a fine time as any to try to be kind because you don't know what people are dealing with when you run into them.
Last thought for this post, later this afternoon, after I had reflected on invasive disease in my garden is just too on the nose a metaphor for the stress of cancer treatment,
I decided if I find more worms I'm going to scoop them up and then put them out for the plentiful birds in my backyard to eat!
