February 1, 2016

avalanche column

January 14, 2016

I have found that folks who are unfamiliar with organic gardening techniques think that there is nothing you can do to control pests. This is so untrue for many reasons. I will quickly go through my control methods. I MUST say that I will destroy a crop before resorting to nonorganic means, but before I do this there will be a fierce battle!!!

With organic gardening soil fertility is the NUMBER ONE priority. Healthy soil means healthy plants. Healthy plants can outgrow most predation.

The garden needs to have a clean buffer zone around the garden. The closer this zone is to bare earth the more effective it will be. I try to maintain 10 feet around my garden. I weed whip to less than an inch.

Encourage a diverse environment with flowering herbs and wild flowers dispersed in the garden. This will draw in both pollinators and beneficial insects.

Exclusion is the least lethal but one of the most effective. The easiest exclusion technique is to cover with agribon fabric. There needs to be great care taken so that you do not introduce bad bugs under the cover when doing bed work. Combining exclusion with hand picking may be the only controls you may need to do.

Hand control is very effective but positive bug ID is important. This is very effective with small populations or small gardens. Hand control can also be used as a way to monitor for when spraying may become a necessity.

Repellants are good to chase bugs off. Once the bugs are chased off an exclusion cover will help keep them away.

The use of fowl can thin populations before they get to the garden. This is where the 10 foot barrier comes in handy. My guinea fowl and chickens patrol these zones for tasty bits that are easy prey.

Lastly sprays. When everything else is not working, sprays can level the playing field. Just because the sprays are organic DOES NOT mean great caution does not need to be taken. Pyrethrum and rotenone spray’s are both organic approved but they are also toxic to people. Read the label completely before spraying, wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt, rubber gloves, boots and be very careful to not get overspray on off target areas. Evenings is usually the best time to spray when beneficial insects are least active.

 Next week I will proceed with the gruesome bug details. The list that follows will include both animal and “vegetable” pests. It is not alphabetical and is not all inclusive.

Cutworms, flea beetles, blister beetles, aphids, wireworms, grasshoppers, pill bugs, hornworms, cabbage lopper, deer, moles, ground squirrels, fowl, curved bill thrasher, English house sparrow, cucumber beetle, squash bug, root knot nematode, tomato pin worm, big legged bug and powdery mildew.

Questions? I can be contacted at markdirtfarmer@gmail.com. Or more garden notes at redwagonfarm.blogsot.com