Food Fight #15It's planting season 'round here and it's on! From now and for several more months, homegrown food will be tasty, practically free, treats. One of the things that can kill this joy is a food fight in the garden.
A common gardening complaint is insects making a meal of plants. This is natural and normal. What's not natural or normal is for there to be so many plant-eating insects that they significantly affect the garden. This only occurs when there are not enough natural predators of these insects.
What Starts The Fight?
The reality is, if you plant it, they will come. If you plant fruit and vegetables, you will attract insects that eat them. On the other hand, beneficial insects that eat garden-eating insects will come in fewer numbers or not at all if one or more of the following exists in your borrowed space:
* No plants beneficial insects love .
* A one plant lawn, meaning grass only.
* You cut your grass too low and too often.
* Manmade chemical fertilizers on your lawn.
* Manmade chemical fertilizers for your garden, flowers, shrubs or trees.
* Removing grass clippings and leaves from your yard.
* Landscape consists of common, non-native group of plants everyone has.
* You do things to annihilate ants and dandelions.
* You use bug zappers.
In other words, you, the homeowner, can instigate a food fight in your garden in the name of “taking care of your property” and by having an antiseptic view of nature's beauty. These environments are not very hospitable to beneficial insects, insect-eating birds and earthworms (compost makers who love grass clippings and leaves).
A Fair Fight
To keep the joy in gardening, the environment must have a fair chance. You can help by stopping certain aspects of land raping aka landscaping and then by adding a variety of plants that support a greater diversity of living things.
One of the best plants to add is fennel. It provides a six for one deal. Fennel attracts five beneficial insects, plus you can eat it. I'm sure there are other benefits to the soil, microorganisms and birds. Also plant caraway herb.
Other plants that attract multiple insects, including bees, plus birds are Fern-Leaf Yarrow (Achilla Filipendulina), Common Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium), Queen Anne's Lace aka Wild Carrot (Daucus Carota), Golden Marguerite aka Ox-Eye Chamomile & Dyer's Chamomile (Anthemis Tinctoria), Orange Stonecrop aka Stonecrop, Sedum & Kamschatka (Sedum Kamtschaticum), Four-Wing Saltbush aka Shadscale, Wing-Scale & Salt Sage (Atriplex Canescens), Purple Poppy Mallow aka Buffalo Rose & Wine Cups (Callirhoe Involucrata), Tansy (Tanacetum Vulgare), Sulphur Cinquefoil aka Upright Cinquefoil, Rough-Fruited Cinquefoil & Sulpher Five Fingers (Potentilla Recta) and Alpine Cinquefoil (Potentilla Villosa).
Plant as many types as possible. Helpful annual plants are not listed since I believe in the plant it once method and those above are more than enough. However, a highly praised annual is the Marigold (Tagetes Tenuifolia).
Let Fighters Fight
In general, plant anything that attracts lacewings, some of which are listed above. This takes the fight to the basic level. In any arena, fundamentals win fights not fancy know-how.
Use organic fertilizers such as compost and manure. Also plant herbs and nuts and berries and other fruit. To make it really simple for starters, just plant a packet or two of wildflower seeds. In the meantime, stop feeding the birds. Once you do, they will eat the insects in your yard including ants. Ants are essential. They benefit the soil, eat other insects and dandelion seeds.
Do more of the above and you won't have to resort to using mail order bugs. Once balance is restored, you won't even have to spray organic mixes on the leaves of your plants. Nature is more than capable of handling itself in the constant fight for survival as long you don't disrupt the food chain, life cycle, nesting places and hiding places for even the tiniest living organism.
Seek to understand what keeps soil healthy and remember, all those plants you might consider as weeds are part of the equilibrium. Try to leave some of every type that naturally grows, including dandelions.
Caretaker's Responsibility
There's no question the real food fight in the garden is caused by humans fighting against the natural order. Start transforming your borrowed landspace back into more of the mini Garden of Eden it should be. Make it a sanctuary and cooperative storehouse of sustenance so you, insects, birds and more can share and enjoy the rewards of another growing season.
