Manage Pests in Your Garden with Beneficial Insects
There’s a lot to say about beneficial insects, but I don’t need to convince you that you want them in your garden.
You already know beneficial insects are… well… beneficial ha!
You know you want more of them, because you know they will help your garden thrive.
But once someone knows they want beneficial insects in their garden, here are some common questions that pop up:
What do the good guys look like so I know not to squish them?
What is safe to spray to kill the bad bugs eating my plants without harming the good guys?
How can I attract more beneficial insects to my garden and keep them there?
What do the good guys look like so I know not to squish them?
I’m going to totally flip the script on this very common question.
Instead ask, what do the bad guys look like?
Why?
Only about 1-3% of insects are considered pests… that means the other 97% of all insects are actually considered beneficial.
Is your mind blown? Mine was.
So since there are some TEN QUINTILLION species of insects in the world… you can see how it would be a lot easier to get to know the 1-3% you don’t want.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome to know what celebrity-status beneficials, like ladybugs, praying mantis, and lacewings look like at all stages, but you can quickly overwhelm yourself trying to identify every insect you see.
It’s much easier to just consider anyone who isn’t a foe to be a friend :)
The best way I’ve found to know if I should squish a bug or destroy a mass of eggs is to just find out if it’s a pest, rather than trying to find out what exactly it is.
I look at my plants, and if I notice chewed leaves, wilting, or I see many of the same type of insect, I do a quick google search for common pests of the plant I notice the problem with.
This search will yield multiple blog posts with pictures of the likely culprits, and from there I usually have my answer.
Then I can keep an eye out for that particular bug whenever I’m in the garden.
You will be amazed how much you’ll be able to identify common pests before they become a problem.
What is safe to spray to kill the bad bugs eating my plants without harming the good guys?
That same search for “common pests” will also give you suggestions for how to deal with those pests.
Traditional advice consists of “remove debris and till the soil” (which to reiterate is a bad idea), and “use all-natural insecticides” like neem oil and diatomaceous earth.
The trouble is that using ANY insecticide will kill beneficial insects as well.
There aren’t many “over-the-counter” spray-type solutions for home gardeners that won’t also harm beneficials.
There’s no quick fix.
Well there is I guess… we’ve been using the “quick fix” for many years, and it’s destroying our ecosystem and killing the insects we rely on to pollinate our food, and feed animals higher up on the food chain.
The most sustainable way to control pests for the long term is to allow the ecosystem of your garden to take shape.
That means leaving the leaves and plant debris in fall so that good bugs and bad bugs alike can survive the winter in the shelter provided.
It means avoiding ALL general pesticides, because even the ones that are safe for humans will kill your six and eight-legged allies in the garden.
And it might mean losing some plants. That’s ok. You’re in this for the long game. Today’s loss is tomorrow’s gain.
Three years ago after adding a massive amount of woodchips to my garden, the slugs thrived and ate all of my marigolds and rudbeckia. Every single one!
You could say I had a huge slug problem, but the year after, with no intervention on my part, the slugs had a huge ground beetle problem!
In most cases, if you let the ecosystem balance itself out, it will.
Important note though: There are of course always cases in which intervetion is neccessary to protect the wellbeing of your home and family. Termites will not “balance themselves out” and you don’t want a wasp nest where a small child plays. There are also some invasive species without any natural predators (japanese beetle and spoted lantern fly to name two).
Please recognize that this subject is extensive and nuanced, but the general guidelines here will help you maintain a beneficial insect population in your home garden, and ultimately help reduce the number of pest insects on your plants.
How can I attract more beneficial insects to my garden and keep them there?
Get them there with food. Keep them there with shelter. In short: PLANT FLOWERS!
Flowers provide both food and shelter, so planting flowers is a huge boon to your efforts. When at least 30% of your garden space is planted with flowers, beneficials will arrive en masse.
Letting violets and dandelions do their thing in the spring is also a huge benefit to your beneficials.
Many insects who prey on garden pests will also drink nectar from flowers, and flowers can also provide water.
Zinnias, for example, have a great shape for catching small amounts of rain and dew in their petals, which can refresh insects without creating a potential drowning hazard, or mosquito problem for you.
The added habitat of flowering plants is great for predatory insects, like spiders and praying mantis, because it gives them cover to do their hunting without being hunted by birds.
Flowers can also provide an alternative habitat for bad bugs. Nasturtium and Shasta Daisies are commonly used as an attractive “trap crop” to lure aphids away from other plants.
It doesn’t take long for those aphids to be discovered and devoured by someone further up the food chain.
Once the beneficials arrive, keeping them there becomes a matter of providing them shelter to survive the winter, so that the following year they can emerge and start working for you immediately.
Leaves provide the best winter habitat for insects, and should ideally be left right where they fall. If you don’t want to leave them where they fall naturally, you can still provide habitat by keeping them somewhere on your property after raking them up.
This flies in the face of conventional wisdom, which will tell you to remove all plant debris and till the soil to prevent pests from overwintering.
Well, slugs and cutworms aren’t the only ones overwintering in your leaf litter. Spiders, bees, butterflies, beetles, not to mention a whole host of compost-making critters like worms, all need the warmth of fall leaves to survive the winter.
Leave the leaves, and your garden will thank you for it.
Do you believe that the status quo of the suburban lawn needs to be challenged? Do you dream of replacing your boring old lawn with a cornucopia of flowers and fruits and vegetables? Do you want to take care of the land where you live in a way that will nourish your soul and your body and the entire ecosystem that surrounds you?
Let’s do it!
If this is your dream, you’re going to need plants… a lot of plants. After all, plants are the foundation of life on this planet.
In this workshop series, we will learn to propagate plants by:
Starting seeds
Transplanting seedlings
Rooting cuttings
The skills you will learn in these 3 workshops will completely revolutionize your gardening game, and literally change your life. I actually tried to write this less dramatically, but you need to feel the drama, because it’s absolutely true. Knowing how to start your own plants from both seed and cuttings is … a big deal.
In this series of 3 hands-on workshops,you get both the actual physical plants now and the knowledge of how to do it again next year.
The cost-savings of being able to propagate endless plants is very enticing, but also, the feeling of watching a seed germinate and grow into a little baby and eventually a full-grown, blooming flower. Priceless.
You’ll save money on seeds now, because seeds are included in the worksop, and you’ll save money on seeds later when you learn how to store seeds properly to keep them viable as long as possible.
Throughout the season you will get:
64 cool-season hardy annual flower seedlings to plant in April
64 warm-season tender annual flower seedlings to plant in May
36 flowering perennials to plant in August
A supply list to get your seed starting set up together, complete with links
A printable lesson plan you can refer back to
Do you have a group of 4 or more? Email me at beth@foodandbloomsfarm.com for a group rate!
Workshop 1, March 22 10am-12pm, Sunnycrest Farm, Londonderry, NH
In this first workshop, we’ll lay the foundation of your seed starting skills, covering topics like soil blocking, what type of plant light to choose for your own set up, what equipment and special tools you might want (and why or why not), and where to get the best seed starting soil. You’ll learn 3 methods of growing on seedlings, and my preferred techniques for sowing different types and sizes of seed. We’ll discuss the difference between cool-season hardy annuals, and warm-season tender annuals, and which species of flowers and vegetables to sow in March and which in April. We’ll also cover tricky topics like soil temperature, light or darkness required for germination, and which flowers to start indoors vs direct sowing outdoors.
But these workshops are not all lectures! You will get to actually put your hands in the soil, and plant your own choice of seeds and pre-sprouted seedlings in a 64-cell seedling tray that you’ll be able to take home with you.
Workshop 2, April 19 10am-12pm, Sunnycrest Farm, Londonderry, NH
In our second workshop, we’ll build on the skills covered in the first workshop and sow seeds and pot up seedlings of the next group of plant types: warm-season annuals.
After we get our seeds and seedlings in our seedling trays, we’ll take our class outside and get a quick lesson on how to build a simple and effective raised garden bed.
Workshop 3, May 24 10am-12pm, Sunnycrest Farm, Londonderry, NH
In our final wrap-up workshop session, you’ll get to learn how to propagate perennial plants from cuttings, truly one of the most thrilling plant propagation skills to learn. We’ll have a large variety of plant material to choose from, and you will learn the techniques and products to use for the best success.
Can’t wait to have you, and propagate some plants!!!!
In the meantime, if you have any questions at all, please let me know. Email me at beth@foodandbloomsfarm.com
Here’s a list of most of the flowers you’ll have access to in this workshop. This workshop series will focus on flowers, with a few options for veggies and herbs, but the skills you learn will be applicable to veggies as well.
Achillea (yarrow)
Ageratum
Amaranth
Ammi green mist
Snapdragons
Columbine
Sweet Annie
Butterfly weed
Aster (perennial and annual varieties)
Basil
Broccoli
Calendula
Celosia
Bachelor Buttons
Feverfew
Coreopsis
Cosmos
Queen Anne’s lace
Dianthus (sweet william)
Dill
Joe pye flower
Gomphrena
Gypsophila (baby’s breath)
Helenium
Heliopsis
Lupine
Marigold
Millet
Nasturtium
Tall phlox
Scabiosa
Statice
Stock
Strawflower
Sunflower
Tomato
Thyme
Zinnia
Anise hyssop
Monarda (bee balm)
Apple mint
Sedum (stonecrop)
Veronicastrum (Culver’s Root)
Caryopteris (Bluebeard)
Forsythia
Montauk Daisy
