Your friendly Without Cockroaches blogger isn't ready to start making New Year's gardening plans just yet. But with a new year in mind and our continued determination to get better at organic gardening year after year, we looked back through our gardening magazine and discovered problems we could solve if... well, you know the rest.
So, in the interest of better organic growth, here are some things we could have done better last growing season.
Fighting the cabbage moth using row shelters: This year we have had problems with cabbage worms of various types, including cabbage loops, especially our few Brussels sprouts. Hand picking helped, but we missed a few things here and there, leaving scarred Brussels sprouts and a head that had been spoiled by an industrious worm that had left a slimy tunnel almost all the way to the center of the cabbage.
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Our gloating son-in-law from the Midwest told us that he never had a problem with cabbage worms after he began regularly dusting his plants with Sevin powder and spraying them a couple more times, just in case. He then told us that he also sprays trees and has never had problems with bark beetles like we have in the western mountains. From previous family meetings, I knew better than to remind him that carbaryl, the active ingredient in Sevin, can remain in the soil for more than two months, and the dangers it could bring to his dog, grandchildren and the environment in general. And I knew better than to even speculate that the spread of beetles in Minnesota, where he lives, might be the result of global warming. Instead, I asked him to pass the pie and vowed to never eat his sauerkraut again.
Instead, I decided to use row covers from the beginning to protect my precious cabbage plants. I've written a lot about the value of string coverages in the past. But I didn't follow my own advice. Knowing that moths migrate into our area as the spring weather warms suggests that I can stop them from laying eggs on or near my plants by simply covering them.
Just because I didn't have problems with cabbage worms in previous years didn't mean I wouldn't have them sometime in the future. The best organic gardening practices focus on prevention. I should have taken this to heart and used row covers. to I had a problem. Row covers are a good investment. After the moths are gone at the end of the season, I can move the blankets to shade the lettuce and other greens that are sensitive to the hot sun. This will prolong the harvest.
Experiment with beneficial nematodes: Not all cabbage worms enter our gardens as borers. Some overwinter in the soil as larvae and eggs, protected by mulch, or in garden debris left over from the growing season. Row covers won't stop them. But perhaps nematodes will do it.
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Used by landscapers like us to kill grubs and other pests beneath our lawns, these carnivorous little creatures also attack the eggs and larvae they encounter in the soil. Perhaps if we used them in the soil of our garden where we planted cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables, we would not have pests crawling out of the soil onto our plants. We think it's worth a try. Has anyone else tried this?
Test your soil: For those of us who have spent years gardening, enriching our yard with lots of compost and other soil amendments, it can be easy to take things like soil pH for granted. Last growing season, because we were using mulch rich in acidic pine needles, we spread dolomite lime all over the site, figuring our soil might be too acidic (another reason we used it: we had dolomite left over from spreading across our lawn).
But did we really need it? Our adjustment may have made the soil too alkaline. Our tomatoes didn't look as healthy this year, although everyone else had a good tomato year. Cabbage, which does best at a pH of 6.0 to almost 7.0, definitely had problems. If only we tested instead of guessing before planting. Modern soil testers make testing easy, and our local extension service is ready to provide us with comprehensive results that include mineral levels and other beneficial properties your plants may need. Gardening, as my grandfather used to say, is not about luck. It's a hard work. And science.
Finally: There are other things we should do in the garden, such as spending more time enjoying it. But in the coming year, we're going to focus on prevention and stopping problems before they start. Looks like we could start working on some New Year's resolutions in the garden.
