Let’s talk Texas garden pest control
My clients are often concerned about pests in the home kitchen garden. It’s a hot topic in any gardening community, online or in person. Solutions, cures, and tricks abound. I’m regularly emailed pictures of bugs to ID and asked “what should I do?” Of course there are always solutions to almost any pest, but in many cases they are only treating the symptoms of the bigger problems, and we must be careful not to take action that has unintended consequences. A few harmful insects here or there should be observed and appreciated for what they are telling us about our garden.
The root cause of heavy pest pressure is always an imbalance of nature. Please consider that every insect has a purpose and nature is perfect as it is. Sometimes we forget that. As humans, we often see nature as something that should be dominated or manipulated, rather than something we are a part of. If you walk through the forest you will see birds, animals, plants and insects are all around you. If you look down to the forest floor, you will see decay and death under your feet. If you dig a little, you’ll find the next level of decay, and even deeper you will find the perfect substance of finely broken down matter into humus, which creates the perfect fertile soil to grow more healthy plant life. We use plants for nourishment, so we are a close part of this process. Even “harmful” insects have a role to play. One example is the aphid, which is a common garden pest almost every kitchen garden will see at some point. It’s a master of replication with it’s live female young being born pregnant with pregnant young. Their number one source of food is a weak, stressed out plant. They destroy this plant, which scaffolds the survival of the fittest, allowing the stronger plants to thrive and reproduce, making the entire ecosystem stronger. Other insects such as lady beetles and many others feast on aphids to keep their numbers in check. But at the end of the day, aphid problems mean you have a plant stress problem. Yes, you can use an orange oil spray on aphids. You can spray them with water or dish soap or rub them off with your fingers, but our job as gardeners should be to find the source of the stress and eliminate it. Most plant stress is caused by us, since we are the ones planting and tending the garden. We choose how much water to use, what type of soil to use, what type of food to feed the plants, and what type of plants to plant and when.
One of the most common plant stressors is overwatering. Underwatering, poor drainage, or inconsistent watering can also cause stress, but for some reason, overwatering is what a lot of unsure gardeners tend to do. The second most common source of garden plant stress is when we choose to plant a plant in a wrong situation or wrong time of year. Cool season plants in June or sun-loving plants in the shade will all have higher stress and a whole host of problems. So rule #1, water correctly. Rule #2, plant the right plants at the right time of year. (Luckily all my clients know how to do those things, because I provide detailed info on both of those topics during my home consultation.) Other forms of stress can be a lack of (or too much) nutrients, poor soil, weak cultivars, leggy seedlings, the use of synthetic fertilizers, using chemical pesticides or other poisons and more.
All this said, a sighting of a few harmful insects does not a stressed out plant or garden indicate. What we want to avoid is the infestations - the imbalances. So before you rush to the forums to ask for “cures” or to your garden center for products to buy, just pause a minute and try to understand what is going on in your garden environment, and wait and see what balance nature’s beneficial organisms can resolve.
All this said, once you’ve done your conscious observation and research on a critter and have determined that action is necessary, do NOT ever use toxic chemicals to manage it. Like I said, a pest invasion is normally a sign of a stressed out plant. With toxic chemical application, now you are applying poisons onto an already stressed, weak and sick plant, ridding it of all the beneficial life that helps it out. Not to mention, now we are consuming this plant that’s essentially low in nutrients (due to it’s sick state) and now covered in toxins. There are many, many natural methods to manage pest pressure out there. And unfortunately, the unnatural method is what we’ve been doing for years through our current food chain’s acceptance of the use of chemical pesticides, and one of the reasons we carry traces of poison with us, even found in our skin. This is even true of the USDA certified “organic” program; they accept a lot of chemicals. Of course, this is just a fact of life we cannot entirely change, but eating more food you grow yourself (using nature rather than the toxin approach) is an improvement!
Remember, if you see a suspicious creepy crawly in your garden and feel unsure of what to do, you can grow with confidence through our virtual consultations. You can book your virtual consult here.