A possible comeback

It's too early to tell, but our kale crop is showing signs of recovery. Earlier this summer, the beautiful red Russian kale plants were ravaged by flea beetles, their leaves chewed into skeletons, which eventually went brown and withered. But I kept watering the plants daily hoping that the roots were still living and might send up new leaves as fall approaches.

New growth on the kale plants, but also some signs that the flea beetles are back, too.

So here's what they look like now. The leaves are not beautiful, but they are growing. I'm hopeful that they will come back fully and we'll have a fall crop. As a preventative, I will spray the new growth with soapy water, which I read the flea beetles don't like, in an attempt to control their population and minimize their damage.