Mild winters are like junk food. Sure, it's good at the time, but the end consequences are dire. Winters lacking the usual bite allow nefarious bugs of all sorts to overwinter easily, creating mass hysteria in gardens once late spring and summer are in full stride. Nothing is more discouraging than walking out to discover a prized brussel sprout plant decimated in a day by a harlequin bug, or the prized cabbage for twenty hungry mouths crumbled by an invading aphid … [Read more...] about Warriors under the Microscope: The Lion-esque Lacewing
aphids
Molasses: Jekyll to You, Hyde to Pests.
Farmers and gardeners have always been on the holy grail quest for the growing savior. Growers for eons have searched for the sole silver bullet that will rid them of the insufferable onslaught of fiendish bugs, megolomaniacal weeds, and microscopic diseases. While end-all cure are fallacies, there is new (and not so new) research that molasses can bring alleviation to many dire garden situations. Most of us grew up touting the sweet tooth benefits of this thick … [Read more...] about Molasses: Jekyll to You, Hyde to Pests.
Bugging Out: Part 1
The advent of summer brings many positives: vacations, warm weather, and a new found appreciation of karaoke bars. It also brings negatives: Hangovers, sunburns, long car rides, and most of all, bugs. These summer delights infiltrate every aspect of human life. Ants create colonies in sink drains, roaches wait for the lights to dampen, and aphids suck the life out of that prized heirloom tomato that would have won first prize at the state fair. Gardeners, more than any breed of hobbyist, … [Read more...] about Bugging Out: Part 1
Insecticides part deux–Razor sharp love from the algae family.
Diatomaceous Earth (Found in Red Lake Earth Diatomaceous Earth [food grade]) Imagine you’re wandering around in search of food, and you come to a tree festooned with avocados, mangoes, fresh beans, chocolate cakes, and hot loaves of cheddar bread. In order to pluck from this tree of wild dreams, you must first cross a field littered with razor blades and broken glass. Tempted? Greedy bugs face the same scenario when faced with crossing a barrier of diatomaceous earth. To the … [Read more...] about Insecticides part deux–Razor sharp love from the algae family.
