As someone who has gardened organically for many years, it's always rewarding to have newfound success. There have been some very pleasant surprises in my yard this Spring.
As our days grow longer and our plants (and weeds!) grow bigger, I can't wait to change my clothes after work, fly out into the backyard and get in a quick session of gardening. About a month ago I was shocked to see a ton of black and orange bugs attacking my plants. At least that's what it looked like. I looked a bit closer and could find no damage on the artichoke plant they were dominating. In fact, even though there were more than 30 of the little guys covering the artichoke, the plant looked good. This was strange because I usually have to wash off hordes of artichoke-loving aphids in the Spring with an eco-friendly spray. That's when I realized that the black and orange bugs, which I later identified as soldier beetles, were eating the aphids and saving my plant. These guys were my friends.
For many years, we have been telling interested gardeners to plant flowers in their vegetable garden because they attract "good bugs" and to avoid spraying insecticides because they will kill both the good and the bad bugs. While many know that ladybugs and worms are good for the garden, there are a host of other beneficial insects available to protect our plants from predation. While we can purchase beneficial insects, it certainly is more convenient when they just magically find our organic garden by themselves.
I did a little research (Wikipedia to the rescue) and found that soldier beetles are " ... highly desired by gardeners as biological control agents of a number of pest insects. They consume grasshopper eggs, aphids, caterpillars and other soft bodied insects, most of which are pests." Who knew what a powerful new guest we had? Since we've had a decent number of grasshoppers invading the summer garden for the past two years, I'm hoping that my beetle friends take care of their eggs for us too now that the aphid numbers are declining.
A second surprise was that turning the cover crop in earlier in the year works wonderfully. Like many serious gardeners, I grow an overwintering cover crop in some beds each year to rejuvenate the soil. One challenge we've had in the past is that the cover crop is still present when we've wanted the beds to be ready for planting or is so fiborous that the stalks are difficult to get reabsorbed into the soil. I learned this year that cutting down and turning these crops in a bit earlier in the year works to combat both of these problems. I'm happy because I am improving my soil organically and getting a workout in the process. If I could just learn to be a bit neater with the bed reformation afterward, I might have a chance of even making Jill (my wife) happy with the process.
The last pleasant surprise was that taking a chance on a plant is sometimes successful. Each year we grow lots of sunflowers toward the back of the garden as few plants grow so impressively so easily and so quickly. When the flowers go to seed, I usually cut them off and either feed them to the chickens or leave them on the ground for other birds to enjoy. Naturally, some of the flowers thrown on the ground wind up reseeding wherever they fall. This year, there were five volunteer sunflowers that were growing in the watering well of our apple tree. Now Jill knows that I hate to kill a volunteer plant no matter where it's growing. So she got right on me and warned me not to dig up those sunflowers because she didn't want the tree harmed. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right and I went out and plucked those sunflowers, which were now more than a foot tall. I thought to myself, what the heck, why don't I try to replant them. I was rewarded with surprise No. 3 as four of the five plants survived just fine in their new home. Sometimes it pays to take a chance.
Happy gardening Morgan Hill. Keep that garden organic and remember to be waterwise in your landscape.
Eco-Fact of the Week: You can have a luscious productive garden without using copious amounts of water. Drip irrigation minimizes overspray, reduces weed growth and can be relatively trouble-free if done right. We're thinking of holding a drip irrigation workshop for those interested in either learning how to do it or sharing their expertise. Please contact me if interested.
Eco-Web Pages of the Week: I have two web sites for you this week. First, as you should know, we are all under a 15 percent mandatory water conservation order called by the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
To learn more about the District's rebate programs, go to www.valleywater.org. The second site offers information about drip irrigation at www.dripirrigation.com/drip_tutorial.php. I'm not advocating that you buy something ... but do take the time to read their introduction and tutorial.
Tony Eulo Anthony Eulo is the environmental programs manager for the city and assistant to the city manager. He welcomes questions, comments and thoughts and can be reached at 779-7247.
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