Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

The safest way to protect young plants is to exclude bugs from ever reaching them in the first place.  This can be accomplished by using a light weight row fabric like Agribon 19.  You could also consider spreading Diatomaceous Earth (DE) around the seedlings.  It is totally non-toxic, however you should be careful not to breathe it.  DE is comprised of the fossilized skeletons of diatoms, which desiccates insects when they crawl over it.   Another very safe method is to spray a repellent like Garlic Barrier, again, this would prevent insects from reaching your plants at the start.

Beyond these general controls, if you are considering using an organic insecticide, I would  emphasize the wisdom of identifying your pest before choosing a more potent control.  Often times insects come out at night, so you could go out past dark with a flashlight and catch ‘em in the act in order to figure out what they are.  Take a sample to a local nursery or check out a good website with pictures.  I often use www.ipm.ucdavis.edu.  Hope that helps!

We all know organic farmers and gardeners are wise people. Growing healthy food while maintaining the health of the environment exudes wisdom. So when a pest problem comes up, a wise caretaker rejects the “silver bullet” approach to pest management by killing anything that moves. Instead, he or she is careful to observe the damage, to identify what the source is, and to consider the options within an integrated approach to pest management.

Recently, a woman came into the Peaceful Valley store with a sample of a bean leaf wondering what the problem was. It had reddish spots on the underside with yellowish spots on top. She initially thought it was Spider Mites, but upon inspection with our handy Magnifier, we observed that there was no damage consistent with Spider Mite damage. Under magnification, it looked more like a rust. After consulting the Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control and a helpful website, we confirmed that suspicion.

The first step, we decided, was to stop overhead watering, to water only in the morning, to increase air circulation, and to foliar spray Compost Tea. If the problem persists, she would then consider using a sulfur spray.

What a wonderful example of careful patience and wisdom in confronting problems!