Hello Gardeners Lovers...
My post today is to contribute to the creative gardening challenge, the theme given by admin @gardenhive is A Conversation with An insect. I think this is a very challenging theme, there is fiction and non-fiction in this theme, how do we tell our conversations with insects, of course this is a conversation that must be interesting. I once talked to a grasshopper that had damaged the leaves of the taro plants in my garden.
In my garden a lot of wild taro grows, even though this is wild taro, the fruit, stems and leaves of this taro can be eaten. I have cooked the fruit, stems and leaves several times. Since I was little, I have loved dishes made from this type of taro.
But I am often annoyed by the behavior of wild grasshoppers in my garden, they eat the taro leaves and cause the taro leaves to become damaged. Because I was annoyed, one afternoon while I was in the garden, I talked to a grasshopper. A simple conversation, I think.
"Hey grasshopper, are you the one eating the taro leaves in my garden?" I asked starting the conversation. The grasshopper didn't answer my question, he still continued to eat taro leaves.
I got even more annoyed, but the grasshopper didn't care, he continued to eat the taro leaves. I shook the taro leaf he was eating, for a moment he stopped eating the taro leaf, then suddenly he jumped onto another taro leaf.
"Hey grasshopper, don't run," I shouted annoyed, I followed in the direction the grasshopper jumped.
Then suddenly he looked with his beautiful compound eyes, he moved his legs in front of him on the other side, at first I didn't understand what he was doing, his mouth stopped chewing taro leaves, the grasshopper then moved his mouth "I ate taro leaves in your garden, "Because I'm hungry, there are no more corn plantations in this area that we can eat the leaves from, so we are forced to eat taro leaves."
I was silent when I heard the grasshopper's explanation. The people around my house have not planted corn for a long time. In this planting season, farmers here plant rice and peanuts.This grasshopper eats taro leaves in my garden, to survive, on the other hand I also use these taro leaves to eat and also as food for the gourami fish in my pond.
"But I also use these taro leaves for food for me and my pet gourami fish," I said in self-defense.
"This is wild taro, anyone can enjoy it," answered the grasshopper.
The conversation between us started to get heated, no one wanted to give in for the sake of these delicious taro leaves, finally to cool things down, I said to the grasshopper, "Then, whoever takes the taro leaves first, then these taro leaves will be his".
The grasshopper was silent for a moment, then he said "okay, I agree, this seems fair enough for us."
After the conversation with the grasshopper, I always take the taro leaves before the grasshopper eats them, I will give these taro leaves to my pet gourami fish, taro leaves are one of the gourami fish's favorite foods.
Humans need to use their wits to fight pests that attack plants in their gardens, for me personally, talking to pests to solve problems is an alternative to getting rid of pests from the garden, for now a conversation with a grasshopper is part of creative gardening.
Thank you for reading my post.
Best Regards
@umirais
