Natural Pest Control for Your Garden
After our recent Facebook post on “green” weed control practices, we received several requests for information about nature-friendly ways to control bugs, fungus, and disease in the garden. Carbaryl, the active ingredient in many chemical-based pesticides, is toxic to humans, very toxic to beneficial insects (bees, lady beetles, parasitic wasps), as well as very toxic to aquatic invertebrates and shell fish. Below are some alternatives you may want to consider. Remember, however, that “green” does not mean “harmless.” Use caution and read the directions on any commercial pest/disease control products carefully.
Fingers: Some pests are easy to spot and can be removed by hand. This is probably the best way to get rids of bugs like caterpillars and the tomato hornworm.
Companion Planting: Several plants have properties that repel harmful insects. French Marigolds (the scented kind) repel whiteflies and kill bad nematodes. Nasturtium has a similar effect and will trap aphids.
Cover Cloth: Particularly useful for protecting your vegetable garden, use row cover (or any cloth that will allow light, water, and air to pass through) to keep insects off your plants. Plants that do not require pollination to produce (such as broccoli and cabbage) can stay covered throughout the season, but others will need to be uncovered when they flower so that the bees and other pollinators can do their job.
Insecticidal Soap: This is a low-toxicity bug control solution that will eliminate small soft bodied insects such as aphids, whiteflies, spider mites and mealybugs. Insecticidal soaps may be used either on indoor houseplants or on outdoor plants, including vegetables. They have several advantages over pesticides in that they leave no nasty residue, are non-toxic to animals and birds, and do not harm beneficial insects. Insecticidal soaps disrupt the cell membranes of the insect, resulting in suffocation. To be most effective, they must be applied vigilantly and thoroughly and may need to be reapplied weekly until you attain the desired result. To make your own, simply mix a few teaspoons of liquid dish soap with one quart of water, then spray or wipe the solution onto the leaves, stems, and buds of the plant.
Neem: Neem oil is a naturally occurring pesticide found in the seed of the neem tree. It reduces insect feeding and acts as a repellent. It also interferes with insect hormone systems, making it harder for insects to grow and lay eggs. Neem is non-toxic to birds and mammals (including humans) and an insect must eat part of a treated plant to be affected, so pollinators such as bees are not harmed by it. It is slightly toxic to fish and aquatic organisms, however, and shouldn’t be used near ponds or streams. Neem can be used as a fungicide too.
Pyrethrins: Pyrethrins are pesticides found naturally in some chrysanthemum flowers. They are a mixture of six chemicals that are toxic to insects. Pyrethrins are commonly used to control mosquitoes, fleas, flies, moths, ants, and many other pests. They excite the nervous system of insects that touch or eat it. This quickly leads to paralysis and ultimately their death. In general, pyrethrins are low in toxicity to people and other mammals. However, if it gets on your skin, it can be irritating. It can also cause tingling or numbness at the site of contact. Dogs fed extremely large doses of pyrethrins have experienced drooling, tremors, uncoordinated movement, and difficulty breathing. Pyrethrins are practically non-toxic to birds but highly toxic to honey bees, fish, lobster, shrimp, oysters, and aquatic insects. This should be your pesticide of last resort!
Sulfur: Sulfur is the oldest recorded fungicide and has been used for more than 2,000 years. It can be a preventive fungicide against powdery mildew, rose black spot, rusts, and other diseases. Sulfur prevents fungal spores from germinating, so it must be applied before the disease develops for effective results. Sulfur can be purchased as a dust, wettable powder, or liquid.
Garlic: While sulfur is a great preventative measure against fungus, garlic can be used after you start to see signs of a fungal infection on your plants. Steep 3 cloves crushed garlic, 1 minced onion, and 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes in a quart of warm water for an hour, then strain and reserve the liquid. In a spray bottle, mix one part of the garlic-onion-pepper liquid with four parts warm water and add a drop of liquid dish soap. Thoroughly mist any plant showing signs of fungus with the mixture.
Gardening in the Era of COVID-19, Part I
Normally this time of year I would be buying pansies and other cool weather flowers and potting them up to place on the porch around our farm house, as well as thinking about what other container arrangements I wanted to pot up as April turned to May. Unfortunately, West Virginia is under a “Stay at Home” order prohibiting all but essential travel. Now, while I consider plants to be essential, I feel that venturing out to buy annuals may not exactly be in the spirit of the Governor’s Executive Order. So, what’s an avid gardener to do when he’s got an itch to scratch? Why, get creative, of course!
I realized last week that I have plenty of perennials coming up now that need to be thinned and divided, and this month is the perfect time to do it. Rather then just throw away those plants for which I have no room in the flower bed, I thought I could find a way to use them in containers around the house. Looking around our farm, I realized that I had a drift of daylilies growing in the woods as well as a bed of purple coneflower that really needed to be divided and thinned. I also has a few leftover gladiolus bulbs begging for a purpose. (This is also the time to divide hostas. Consider using them, as well as ferns, in a container that won’t get a lot of sun.)
I started by finding an appropriate container. On the porch we have an old mineral tub from my dad’s cattle farm that we use for large arrangements. I cleaned out the remains of last year’s plantings and mixed in a few gallons of fresh compost to recharge the soil.
Then, I ventured into the woods to dig up some of the daylilies. I found several healthy specimens, and made sure not to dig too many from one spot. When digging up daylilies, be careful not to break the bulb-like roots.
After gathering the daylilies, I found a clump of coneflower suitable for thinning. (It looks like the lamb’s ear in that bed could stand to be divided as well, but that will have to wait until another post, I’m afraid.) The best way to divide plants like coneflower is to dig up the clump, then slice it down the middle with a sharp shovel or spade. Return half to the spot from where you dug it, then divide the other half into individual plants that you can replant.
Once I had my materials, I arranged them in the container. The gladiolus bulbs go in the center. By mid summer, their tall stalks of yellow flowers will really be something. The daylilies and coneflower are arranged around the periphery. They will provide contrasting colors and shapes of foliage, as well as striking oranges and purples when they bloom.
Be sure to water in the arrangement thoroughly and keep the soil moist until the plants have taken root in their new home. It may not look like much now, but in a few months it will be fabulous!
Waking up the garden
By mid- to late-February I’m ready to get back into the gardens. The dark and cold have weighed on me enough that I could use the invigoration that comes with the first signs of spring. I’m also impatient enough from being stuck inside due to snow (or rain) that I’m ready for some activity. When this time of year comes around, we can start to see indications of what is to come. More so this year. It’s been a warm (albeit dark and rainy) winter, so the initial indicators of spring are early. The crocuses, daffodils, and even the day lilies are starting to come up, the lemon balm is showing new growth, and the magnolias have plump buds on their branches.
The ground is either still too wet or too frozen to do much, but I find ways to get active. I walk the property with an empty feed bag, picking up trash and detritus that scattered throughout the yard over the last few months. I take stock of trees that need pruned or removed. I note hardscaping that needs repaired or replaced. The vegetable garden takes shape in my mind’s eye. (We are converting to raised beds this year. I start ticking off the supplies I’ll need to build them.) I stop by the cold frame with a basket and some shears—the winter months resulted in a nice harvest of collard greens and spinach. (The spinach is nicer than anything I grew last spring and summer.) The collards will go nicely with a ham bone I have in the freezer. Maybe I’ll bake a batch of cornbread…
The flower beds and perennial borders are still covered in the dried stems and dead leaves from last season. When fall comes I can never bring myself to cut everything herbaceous to the ground and clear it away, per the garden literature. The last gasps of bloom and color bring me joy as fall turns into winter, and I adore how the desiccated stalks and flower heads support the snow in the winter. By February, however, it’s all just a limp soggy mess. In a month or so, on one of those rare early spring days when the ground is relatively dry, I’ll take a rake to the beds and haul away the dead matter—revealing new growth coming up from underneath. Last season’s remnants will find their way to the compost bin and make their contribution to future fertility. In the meantime, I spread wood ash from the fireplace under some hydrangeas and forsythia that were reluctant to flower last season, hoping the potassium in the ashes will encourage them to bloom this year.
The next few weeks will be bittersweet. Invariably, those warm dry days that would be perfect for working in the garden will be those days that I have to go to my “day job.” Conversely, the weekends will be cold and damp. With luck, however, I will have several blissful morning walking through the garden with my coffee and taking stock of how spring slowly is revealing herself.