2 FARMER’S MARKET

CHAPTER 2 FARMER'S MARKET Mom poked the bug with one finger. "Bummer. You've officially got your first garden pest!" "Garden pest?" I asked. That sure didn't sound good. "We aren't the only ones who like kale." Mom chuckled. "Slugs, snails, aphids—they're all creatures who can eat or damage your food before you get a chance to eat it. This little guy here is an aphid." "But last year I didn't have any on my kale! Did I do something wrong this year?" "Not at all! Depending on the weather and predators and other things like that, you'll see more or less of certain pests each year. Last summer was

pretty cool out—I bet it wasn't warm enough for the aphids." My shoulders slumped. "Will there be any left by the time it's ready to harvest?" "Are you guys ready for the market?" Dad called from the front door. Mom gave my shoulders a squeeze. "Don't worry, sweetie. There are things we can do to help your plants. Let's figure it out after the farmer's market." I nodded, but I didn't feel a whole lot better. It would be so unfair if all that time I'd spent growing the different plants from seeds was a waste because the aphids ate it up. I was grumbly on the way to the market, but I cheered up once we got there. There were always so many fun foods to taste, and I liked finding weird vegetables and fruits to try. I stood in front of my favorite fruit booth, trying to decide which sample to try first when two little arms wrapped around me and squeezed really tightly. Which could only mean… "Sophie!" I squeaked.

Sophie laughed behind me and let go. I could breathe again! My friend could definitely give a tight hug. She'd make a good boa constrictor. "Oh my gosh, Zoey, you have to come see this!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me to a new booth I hadn't seen before. Sophie pointed to a container with weird black and orange bugs crawling around inside. "GUESS! Guess what those are!" "Ummm, some kind of beetle maybe?"

"They're BABY LADYBUGS!" "No wayyy!" I peered closer. "Are you sure?" "Aren't they neat?" A lady with a nametag that said "Nina" who was working at the booth smiled at us. "They look like skinny long beetles now. But after they shed a few times and grow, they'll pupate. And when they're done changing things up in there, perfect little ladybugs will come out!" She pointed to a pupa in the back of the container. It looked a little bit more like a ladybug—the right shape,

anyway. "Do you like bugs?" Sophie and I nodded furiously. "Well, if you two garden at all, you'll love the bugs we have here today!" She waved her hand over some different containers. "Ladybugs, lacewings, nematodes, and—oh, praying mantises!" I cheered. "I love those!" "All of them eat garden pests, so they're pretty popular among organic gardeners. Do you guys know what organic gardening is?" Nina asked. "It's when you grow your garden or food without using pesticide," Sophie said. "Pesticides are bad for lots of creatures," I added. "Plus, if you use a lot of them, like on a farm, and it rains, they can get into local streams and really hurt the things that live there—like merhorses!" Both Sophie and Nina stared at me. "Mer-what?" Nina asked. "Uhhh, I meant… mayflies!" Phew. That was a close one. "Oh wow, you know about stream bugs?" Nina raised her eyebrows.

Sophie mumbled, "Merhorses?" and shook her head once. "Pesticides can be bad for a lot of reasons— mayflies included!" Nina continued. "When you don't want to use pesticides, you have a few choices." She grabbed a jar and opened the lid and pulled out a HUGE green caterpillar. "Whoaaa!" Sophie and I said at the same time. Nina plonked the caterpillar in my hand. "Some pests, like this tomato hornworm or slugs, are big enough that you can pick them by hand." I handed the caterpillar to Sophie so she could