Good morning, this spring with my greens I was trying to do a catch and release with beneficial insects to combat Aphids. Combating aphids will be easier once my three guineas have kicked the bucket. Two of them must be 10 to 12 years old. Leaving the covers off would afford for more good guys to come to the rescue. But leaving the covers off is like a huge magnet to pull in the guineas. They have no problem flying over the fence that keeps the chickens out.
Catch and release and inspecting leaves to make sure there are no pupating beneficial s or egg cases of beneficial insects does add to the harvest time. It already takes some time to harvest 10 # of chard. The use of beneficial insects is so much easier on the veggies where the fruits are harvested instead of the greens.
For most of the year I cuss out the English house sparrows for enhancing my chicken pellet bill. But during the spring if I leave the covers off they will get into the infested plants and glean them clean quickly especially if they are a sizable flock, which they usually are.
Before I started covering my toms there were a pair of guinea’s that would cruse for horn worms, but with covering the tomatoes there is also the elimination of curve billed thrashers, tomato boring worms, horn worms, pin worms, sun scald and better moisture retention. There is a down side with fabric, it makes a great aphid habitat.
The nice thing about the fabric and greens, it protects it from the brutal sun, the cold (when we have some), the wind and any other weather events. I would have been toast with the last freeze if it wasn’t for fabric.
It would be nice to re-home the guineas to someone that does not have chickens (these guys just harass the chickens) but would like to have a “doorbell” so to speak to alert for any company. They do have the savvy to deal with snakes and have killed them on an occasion.
It will be nice to experiment with passive aphid control on the greens. I can only leave the covers off when I will be in the garden. As dry and brown as it is the guineas can spot an unprotected and unsupervised green from a mile away.
One may ask why do we have guineas? These guys I have great respect for. It was several years back when we were having a major grasshopper outbreak and we got the guineas. It was amazing but within a month of their release the grasshoppers ceased being a problem. So, if I cannot find a new home for them, they will have a retirement home here. Of course, there will be a few choice words toward them on occasion.
This week I harvested chard, kale, lettuce, green onions, carrots, beets, summer squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Please email for quantities and availability.
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