Organically speaking, put your health first

Today’s topic is organic gardening, and this is important stuff. I hope that by the time you reach the end of this column, you will see how easy it is to grow vegetables without the use of chemicals and embrace these methods yourself. After all, the whole point of growing our own veggies is for our health, right?

I’ve been an organic gardener for many years and have learned it’s based on establishing a balanced ecosystem within our yards. We have set up our landscape to attract a lot of birds. We enjoy birdwatching but really appreciate how many insects they consume.

I never treat for a problem as a preventive measure, I only take action when a problem exists. The best way to do this is to monitor your garden regularly. Let’s say you see damage on your potato plants and spot some Colorado potato beetles. That’s the time to take action. Treating ahead of time – “just in case” – only wastes materials.

There are three things you can do. Pick the beetles off the leaves and smash them. Next, run your hands through the leaves to see if there are any tubular orange eggs on the undersides. Those get the smash treatment as well. And lastly, use a safe product like Bt San Diego.

“Bt” stands for Bacillus thuringiensis which are bacteria that are safe for humans but kill the caterpillar stage of insects. “San Diego” is a strain that specifically kills Colorado potato beetle larvae.

While there are very few troublesome insects in my garden, the Cole crops – broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage – tend to be bug magnets. They attract aphids and cabbage loopers, those green inchworms that make leaves look like Swiss cheese.

There are two simple solutions for this. If these bugs are present, spray the leaves with the regular formulation of Bt. To prevent getting these insects, use a floating row cover. Known by many gardeners by the product name “Reemay,” this lightweight fabric is placed over beds of plants as an insect barrier. The fabric lets in light and moisture, and even provides some frost protection. You can’t use it if the crop needs to be pollinated, however. I use Reemay for Cole crops, spinach and Swiss chard. Those last two can become infested with leaf miners – worms that tunnel between plant leaf layers – so Reemay works beautifully to keep out the fly that lays the eggs.

Another destructive insect is the Tomato Horn Worm. They can easily be hand-picked off the plants and given the smash treatment, but that makes me nauseous so I dispose of them in the trash. They can also be sprayed with regular Bt.

When it comes to squashing insects, it is important to identify the insect first because there are many beneficial insects out there. For example, Ladybug larvae look like small alligators with orange spots. They consume thousands of aphids so they’re on my protected species list. Another beneficial insect is the Green Lacewing. And don’t forget about spiders: they’ll eat a ton of insects for us.

Insecticidal soaps are another product we can safely use. Read the label carefully to know which insects the product will target. For plant nutrients, we can use organic fish fertilizer and other organic fertilizers newly available, compost and peat moss. Let’s make a pledge to only use environmentally responsible products in our gardens this year.