BT israelensis |

The 2017 spring garden is, so far, one of the best gardens I have had in a long time. Thanks to a lack of any real winter, soil temps were high, air temps were moderate and rain that came at just the right times allowed lots of us too planted early (I have friends in Austin that put out tomatoes in February!!!). While a mild winter and almost perfect spring weather are great for your plants, it is also great for bugs. So while our gardens look great right now, your beautiful plantings will soon (or maybe already are) full of bugs.

Aphids and other bugs are already beginning to move into our gardens. Photo by Bruce Leander

To me, organic bug control is the most challenging task in the organic garden. While there are a few “decent” organic pesticides out there, they do not act quickly and they do kill as wide a range of bugs as I would like. Since I don’t have a “magic bullet” to kill all of my pests I have had to develop a “system” to help me keep the bugs at bay.

When I was in grad school I took several courses related to greenhouse production. In those courses I learned that, even though greenhouses are the perfect environment for pests to thrive in, greenhouse use very few chemicals to control them. Pesticides are expensive and customers don’t like them so greenhouses use a system called Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to keep their bugs at bay. Through the years, I have taken my cues from these greenhouse producers to develop my own Integrated Pest Management System for my organic garden.

The IPM system consists of Cultural control methods, Mechanical or Physical control methods and Chemical/Biological methods. This method is generally illustrated with the “IPM Triangle”. Cultural methods provide the “biggest bang for the buck” in your garden. Because of this they are the biggest part of the system and they are represented as the base of the triangle. Once your cultural methods are in place you can apply mechanical and physical methods to control your bugs. Finally, if you still have bugs after implementing the other methods, you should use chemical or biological methods to gain control over the pests.

Cultural Control Methods

Pull bugs off of plants and drop them into soapy water. Photo by Bruce Leander

The best way to control bugs is to not let them get in the garden in the first place. Below are list of things you can do to discourage or prevent pests from setting up home in your garden.

Grow Healthy plants in healthy soil
Grow crops recommended for area
Use Crop Rotation
Control weeds
Water in the morning
Plant many types of vegetables as opposed to a single type
Space plants properly
Clean up mulch and debris
Sanitize hand tools, stakes and cages in light bleach

Mechanical/Physical Control Methods

Get rid of aphids and scales from your plants with a strong blast of water. patty and I use the Mitey-Fine water blaster.

If bugs get in your garden you can use several of the methods below to keep them under control. Remember, as with most things, these methods are most effective when used before the bug problems get out of control.

Pick bugs off plants and drop in solution of soapy water
Remove eggs from undersides of leaves
Spray aphids and scales with water blasts
Mechanical barriers (row cover)
Traps (Yellow Sticky Pads, bucket of water with lighting attached)

Chemical/Physical Control Methods

Control soft bodied pests like cabbage worms with Spinosad

If all of your efforts have failed, you will need to spray. Be careful when spraying for pests. All pesticides, whether they are organic or not, will kill both good bugs and bad bugs.

Last resort. Using sparingly
BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) for caterpillars
Spinosad controls caterpillars, leaf miners, fire ants
Predators (lady beetles, praying mantis)
Homemade concoctions

I grow zinnias and other flowers in my garden to lure bugs away from my vegetables

I share my posts on The Simple Homestead Blog Hop. Be sure to stop by and check out all the amazing things these gardeners and homesteaders are doing!

Harlequin bugs are a common pest in our area.

As I write this post, sun is pouring in through my window! Now that sun is back it is time for some serious gardening. June is always the busiest and most difficult month of the year for me. Everything thing needs constant attention. Each June vegetables need to be harvested almost daily and full grown weeds seem to pop up overnight. While those jobs are normal this time of year all of our recent rains are going to cause some pretty serious, and unusual pest problems. Patty Leander sent me several tips on how to organically control some of the more common pests in our June gardens. This is such a big topic this time of year I am going to add a series of pest control tips each week in June.

Pest Control

Control mosquitos-All of this rain is going to mean swarms of mosquitoes. Drain all standing water. Mosquitos can mature in as little as a half inch of water. If not possible to drain the water treat it with a product that contains the israelensis strain of Bt (also known as Bti) to kill mosquito larvae.
Control nutgrass (Nut Sedge) with horticultural molasses-I have not tried this but I found it on Howard Garrett’s website (http://www.dirtdoctor.com/Nutgrass-Control-with-Molasses_vq3266.htm). Since I trust “The Dirt Doctor” and I have a problem with nutgrass I will be trying this in my gardens this week
Control slugs, snails, pillbugs and earwigs with a product containing iron phosphate and spinosad- The efficacy of many pesticides can be wiped out by heavy rain so always check the forecast before application and reapply when needed.

Small tomatoes are already for harvest. All of our rain is going to cause cracking in many of our larger varieties. Don’t worry though. Just cut out the bad spots and enjoy what’s left!

Vegetables

Expect to see cracking in tomatoes, especially if rainy weather continues-This is caused by fluctuations in moisture and temperature during periods of rapid fruit growth. Salvage fruit by cutting around the affected areas.
Watch tomatoes for signs of early blight-Early Blight is a fungal disease that spreads by air, insects, wind and splashing water. Extension sponsored research from Ohio State University has shown that garlic oil, neem oil and seaweed extract can help reduce the severity of early blight on tomatoes; other organic options for control include potassium bicarbonate and the fungicide Serenade.
Start seeds for fall tomatoes in late June so you will have transplants ready to set out in early August.

Spider mites love marigolds. Control them with strong blasts of water to the undersides of leaves every few days. I use the Mitey Fine Mister

Ornamentals

Pull or hoe weeds before they set seed. If you get them before seed set they can go right into the compost
Aphids and spider mites are becoming a problem on annual flowers and crepe myrtles. Control with strong blasts of water to the underside of leaves or spray with horticultural oils
Deadhead annual flowers like marigolds to encourage blooming
Mulch, mulch, mulch! Mulch controls soil temperatures, suppresses weeds and conserves moisture. Mulch often and deeply
Don’t forget to feed your potted plants regularly-I use compost tea. If you use chemical fertilizers like Miracle Grow apply weekly at half the recommended rate.

Don’t forget to fertilize your potted plants. I use compost tea. If using chemical products like Miracle Grow apply weekly at half the recommend rate

Lawns

To avoid fungal disease, do not apply nitrogen to St. Augustine until the soil dries out
When soil dries apply 3 to 4 lbs of nitrogen to 1000 square feet of St. Augustine
Apply 4 to 5 lbs of nitrogen per 1000 square feet of Bermuda
Apply 2 to 3 lbs of nitrogen per 1000 sqaure feet of Zoysia

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