It is best to control pests naturally

Even the best of gardeners sometimes have trouble with pests in their vegetable gardens. I think it works kind of like weeds. In the same way that you don't have to plant weeds in order for them to appear in your garden, you don't have to do anything for insects to appear in your garden.

The good news is that most insects found in the garden are beneficial. In fact, about 90 percent of the insects that frequent garden areas are considered good insects. On the other hand, there are only about 9 or 10 insect pests that do real damage to vegetable plants. With a ratio of 9 to 1 beneficial insects to pests, spraying chemical insecticides on your vegetables is not a good idea. Most of the beneficial insects are carnivorous and will eat the bad boys in the garden. The trick is to attract the good guys and let them do what they do best. Pesticides and insecticides actually help level the playing field in favor of the pests.

So what do I recommend for controlling insect pests in the garden? Well, a good place to start would be other insects. This year, in my garden, the ladybugs have been prolific. The ladybug larvae -- which resembles a doodle bug excepts it's mostly black with some orange spots on its back -- were parked all over my raised beds. So I saw no aphids to speak of in the garden. Ladybugs are also effective against whiteflies, scales, mites, tomato hornworm and cabbage moth, among others.

The praying mantis is a voracious predator. They eat crickets, moths, grasshoppers, flies, mosquitoes and beetles. They are quick and effective killers. Their camouflage allows them to be deadly hunters. So if you see a praying mantis in your garden, please leave it alone. It is doing you a good service.

Spiders are good for the garden. They eat a variety of insects. Well, to be honest, spiders can't chew or swallow, so they don't actually eat their meals. What spiders do is suck the juices from their prey. Regardless of how they consume their lunch, I'm always glad to see garden spiders in my garden.

There are a variety of parasitic wasps that are beneficial to the garden. The other day I watched a parasitic wasp capture a gray moth in my asparagus bed. Parasitic wasps eat an assortment of garden pests and are not dangerous to humans or pets.

Not all pests are insects. There are mice and moles and such like. We have a couple of garter snakes living in our garden. I try to respect them because I know they eat garden pests. The other day, some workmen were staining our patio and one of them found one of our snakes under a wooden pallet. He was just about to kill him when Linda called out, "That's our snake! That's our snake!" I think this guy thought we were totally nuts, but he reluctantly tossed the snake into the tomato vines.

As always, I can't emphasize too much or too often just how important the health of the soil is to the health of your plants. A soil that is rich in organic material will be literally teeming with microbial life. The vast majority of these microbes are beneficial to plant life. In such a soil, a healthy plant sends down liquid carbon that attracts beneficial fungi which in turn defends the plant roots against such enemies as nematodes. This "microbial bridge," as it has come to be called, builds topsoil and sequesters carbon deep in the soil. When scientists speak of carbon buildup in the atmosphere, it is estimated that about 30 percent of the carbon in the atmosphere originated from the soil due to farming practices that release carbon stored in the soil. Years of plowing and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides have leached carbon from the soil. The "microbial bridge" reverses this process and helps return carbon to the soil. Unfortunately, soil microbes do not tolerate chemicals very well. The recent trend to no-till farming has been very good for the soil.

There is also a movement toward intensive grazing, in which a large number of cattle are placed on tall grass and then are moved frequently from pasture to pasture to keep them from overgrazing. This is a great way to build soil and reduce expensive inputs to farming.

On the level of your garden, adding compost to the soil and refraining from using chemicals on your plants will produce plants that are so healthy that many insect pests will not be attracted to them.

Next week I will write about what to use if all else fails. Until then, happy gardening!

Sam Byrnes is a Gentry area resident who has been gardening from his youth. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 07/08/2015