Organic Gardening and Pest ControlAvoiding or minimizing the use of chemicals and artificial fertilizers. I've been practicing "organic growing" for the past 30 years. Although I'm no fanatic I do my best to minimize the impact of my fertilizing and insect control on the environment.You'll find information on the organic philosophy, great books, and new products. Oh, and how it all relates to bamboo! |
Our Organic Gardening Philosophy I've been an advocate of organic gardening since 1971 when I read a book titled "Malabar Farm". I subscribed to "Organic Gardening" and when we moved to our farm the first thing I did was plant a huge garden using all natural fertilizer and pest control. This became not just a practical method of growing plants but in fact a philosopy for living. I've strayed a few times over the years (usuallly in a panic) but was never happy using chemicals that killed not only a particular pest but everything else (and maybe me) as well. With education and experience I've found that most pest problems can be solved without the use of deadly pesticides, fungicides, etc. Organic growers are the exception and nurseries commited to organic methods are hard to find. Most nurseries use a host of chemicals, saturating their plants, soil (and themselves) with chemicals that kill indiscriminately and end up in our water, air, and soil. I've taken delivery of plants that smelled so strong of pesticide that I feared to touch them. I try not to be extreme about this but many of these chemicals are deadly and we should all use caution when dealing with them, either as the producer or consumer. If you're concerned with the health of our planet, like we are, ask questions, educate yourself, and make wise choices. At our bamboo nursery we make every effort to avoid toxic chemicals for pest control. At times we are required by the state agriculture department to administer certain pest controls but we try to minimize this as much as possible and we always search for safer methods. There are a multitude of products and methods for the organic gardener. We remove all soil from new bamboo divisions and repot in a non-soil potting mix. (primarily composted bark, peatmoss, and sand). All bamboo plants are grown on a tough ground cover fabric with a lining of plastic underneath. This keeps many pest at bay, especially ants. New bamboo plants that we purchase are quarantined until we are sure they are not infected in any way. We use insecticidal soaps, dormant oils, and natural pesticides such as pyrethrium based products. We use tons of mulch each year to build the soil and control weeds. We've also had good results in the greenhouse with beneficial insects. Of course using compost to grow healthy plants plays a big part in our organic program. |
| Compost We use lots of compost in both our gardens and in the bamboo nursery. I try to keep a couple of compost piles going but still never seem to have enought. Compost is just the best thing you can do for your plants. Here's how I make mine. I start
with a truck load of horse manure. Actually it's the cleanings from
the stalls of a local stable and consist of sawdust, horse manure
and urine, and straw. The horse owners dump this in a large pile and
allow me to take all I want. It's usually partially rotted when I
load it. I lay down a layer of straw, and then a layer of manure.
I use straw and the weeds we pull from our garden along with household
garbage such as coffee gounds, vegetable trimmings, eggshells, etc.
(no meat) |
| Great Product This winter I kept the greenhouse on the cool side, about 55. This helped keep some pest under control but whiteflys were still a problem. I've used insecticial soap with some success but it doesn't quite do the job. Recently I tried a new product called Neems Oil. I found it at our local garden supply store. It is a natural product and acts as both an insecticide and fungicide. I sprayed all the green house plants and after only a couple treatments I managed to get the whitefly population under control. Hightly recommended. |
| Malabar Farm This book has had a lifelong impact on me. I was lucky enough to read this back in the early 70's and it's one of the few books I've read more than once. The author, Louis Bromfield, won the Pulitzer Prize for a fictional book he wrote in the 1920's. He had several best sellers and became a wealthy man. He had lived in France for many years before and during WWII. With the end of the war, he returned Ohio near where he had grown up. He bought several worn out old farms and over the next several years turned them into a thriving farm. His techinques to restore the soil would be what we call "organic" today but at the time he did what seemed to make sense and it worked. Malabar Farm was followed by another book, Plesant Valley. He became quite famous as a farmer and spokesman for a new type of agriculture and a way of life. he had thousands of visitors from all over the world. Reading about the farm will not only educate you but also give you a sense of nostalgia for a way of live that has about disappeared today. |
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Spring 2005 - Ladybug Invasion I've been spending a lot of time in the outdoors lately, both in the bamboo groves and the woods around the farm. I've also veen visiting nearby bamboo groves and I've noticed there are ladybugs everywhere this year! I love these little guys, they are one of the organic gardener's best friends. They can eat 40 aphids in one hour and they also devour certain beetle larve, cinch bugs, and other pest. Not sure what it means that I see so many this year. Although I first noticed them in the bamboo, I've also seen them on many other plants. |
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