Today I planted spring onions in this cleared space between the lettuce and peppers. It used to house the failed radishes. We’re in a new moon phase and that’s supposed to be good for spring onions. I planted 2 rows and hope I get heaps of ’em. The package says they like a lime-rich (not sure if this bed is or no) organic-rich (this bed is where a bunch of beer mash went so I’d say yes to that one) soil. Harvest should be in 2-3 months so I have a while to wait and see.
I also planted more tarragon in the small patch behind the last pepper. I’m a bit desperate now. There is one little bunch of something (weeds or tarragon? who knows) where I planted the 4 groups of tarragon in the lettuce bed, but one of the groups of sprouts that gave me hope later vanished in the jaws of some critter. These new ones should appear within 2 weeks if they are going to. I figure I’ll just have to keep planting them until something comes up somewhere!
Here is the same bed after the Tash defence has been installed. No bed is left unprotected any more. And no branch is pruned that isn’t enlisted in a full anti-Tash assault.
As for other pests, aphids in particular, I’ve kind of surrendered. The celery at the back of this lettuce bed started curling up something fierce (you can see it in the bottom photo if you blow it up). The basil is affected a little as well. On closer inspection they were swarming with tiny white aphids (which I needed my glasses to find). The tenants left a “natural based” insect spray and I used it yesterday – then again today (focussing primarily on the celery and this time getting the underside of the leaves like you’re supposed to). It’s mainly garlic and pyrethrum apparently. But I’d rather not have to spray with anything from the shops. Faced with losing my celery though, I’m spraying.
Update 4 May 2011: Spring Onions and tarragon were total failures. The spring onions sprouted and then died (too warm I suppose) the tarragon seeds proved to be faulty.
Laura Rittenhouse's Gardening Journal 
I never had bugs in my garden. Weird, huh? Nothing got eaten. Beginners luck??
But the onions amazed me! I thought I’d harvested all of them (spring onions). When we went to turn the garden under here mid November, I found more onions! (who knew spring onions could get so big??) I’m planting more onions next year.
That is really weird. There are so many bugs here – I hear them humming, see them flying, watch them crawling every time I stroll through the garden. I keep telling myself that must mean it’s a healthy environment since everything wants to live in my back yard and eat my food.
Send some of your good onion karma my way. The spring onions should be ready to harvest when you arrive.