THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507210102
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
YOU MAY HAVE some hard-working helpers out in your garden right now, waiting for you to encourage them. There are many naturally occurring or simple solutions that can greatly benefit gardening.
Here are some of what Organic Gardening magazine calls ``your hardest working friends'': LADYBUGS
The ladybug is the best known of all good bugs. It feeds on aphids, potato beetles, weevils and many other pests, keeping things in natural balance. Poison sprays and dusts destroy ladybugs, so don't use them. But entomologist Gary Couch cautions against buying ladybugs for your garden. ``After gorging themselves on an infestation of aphids, these eat-and-run types will move on - and out of your garden,'' he says. ``Most ladybugs advertised in seed catalogs are a California species. They leave your garden to fly back to California.'' PRAYING MANTIS
The name is deceiving. This bug is not ``praying,'' but ``preying.'' A fierce predator, the mantis helps keep gardens free of aphids, caterpillars and many other insects. Unfortunately, they also eat honeybees, salamanders, even frogs, as well as other praying mantis. COMPOST
Compost has many short- and long-term benefits. Into a compost pile, you deposit wastes of life - grass clippings, kitchen wastes, weeds, etc. - and from it you get rich natural fertility. MARIGOLDS
Plants have buddies, and one of the best is the marigold. In addition to its beauty, the roots stave off nematodes. The odor from its flowers and foliage is said to repel many pests, from beetles to rabbits. LACEWING
This is a nighttime pest patrol, on guard while you sleep. Jade-green and golden-eyed, this beautiful creature hovers over plants and flowers like a miniature hummingbird on the lookout for her favorite food - garden pests such as scales, aphids, mites and mealybugs. MULCH
Mulch is nearly magical. It practically eliminates weeding and hoeing, cuts watering chores, protects against drought and frost and keeps mature vegetables off the ground so they won't rot. And it continually builds soil fertility. TOADS
Nearly 90 percent of a toad's diet consists of insects and other small creatures, most of which are harmful to your garden. In three months, one toad can eat up to 10,000 pests, 16 percent of which are cutworms. WRENS
This small, humble bird loves worms and bugs. If you're bugged by birds snitching your favorite berries and fruit, Organic Gardening magazine recommends you put a wren house in your fruit or berry patch. These courageous little birds will chase off practically every berry-thieving bird in sight. BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS
Bacillus Thuringiensis - commonly known as BT - is a natural microorganism that makes some insects very ill, including pests such as the tent caterpillar, codling moth worm, peach tree borer, corn earworm, cabbage worm, cabbage looper and gypsy moth caterpillar. Unlike pesticides, BT is safe to other insects and humans. EARTHWORMS
The earthworm continually manufactures precious topsoil. It can burrow 6 feet into the ground, aerating soil, making drainage for rain and breaking up hard-pan so cultivation is easier. It produces its own weight in fertile soil every 24 hours. FOIL-COVERED CARDBOARD
Put a large piece of cardboard covered with foil under a cabbage or tomato plant and aphids will fly to another place to lay eggs. The foil reflects blue sky, and the aphid finds itself flying upside down. YELLOW STICKY BOARDS
Most flying insects are attracted to yellow. Yellow sticky bars will become the permanent home for many flying insects. You can buy the bars in home and garden centers or make your own with yellow paint and Tanglefoot. Destroy the bars when they're full of bugs. One word of caution - the bars sometimes snag a bird. BEETLE TRAPS
Japanese beetle traps are a natural control but be sure to put them 25 feet outside your garden. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
GOLDSMITH SEEDS
Marigold blooms repel many pests, and the roots keep the soil free
of nematodes.
by CNB