Ants in Your Plants- A Solution?
I was not sure Splenda would work to kill ants. I had naively tried all the other crazy things CBC listeners have pawned off on me over the years. Was this another dumb Donna moment? I had to find out.
MUSHROOMS WILL SAVE BEES
Do you wish you could change the world? Make a real difference to your friends and family and to the little creatures like bees who seem so innocent, so fragile? I found out last week that we can do it. We can change our world by changing our garden.
But it’s not what you think. I am not going to insult you and tell you to plant flowers or herbs to attract pollinators to your yard because if you are on my page you are already a gardener and the plants you grow do exactly that. They attract bees.
SHARE THE LOVE: A SURPRISE IN THE GREENHOUSE
So I’m in the greenhouse this morning looking at my plants and of course admiring them and smiling and then I see two slugs curled up together. On a leaf. A broccoli leaf. So of course I run for my camera and here is the evidence of slugs at work: mating.
THE BUGS ARE BACK
Dear Donna
To-day we noted a dense infestation of red bugs on one of our ‘pseudo sunflower plants’ – with a ‘pseudo-ant-like’ appearance.
The picture shows the poor growth with the ’enemy’.
Can I Use Leaves in the Veggie Garden?
If you have rich good soil packed with microbes ready to break down shredded leaves then add the leaves right away. The leaves will disappear quickly. If you are not sure if you have a microbe packed soil, then add a small layer (1/4 inch) of high quality worm castings on top of the shredded leaves so you are inoculating your leaves and soil. Worm castings are like pro-biotics for your garden.
The Solution (to most of your problems) is in the Soil
Our world is just too small to be messing with random additions of chemicals and in his book, the intelligent gardener, Steve Solomon spells it out for you. But if you prefer to keep it really really safe, simply make the conditions right for microbes and they will make the conditions right for plants. It is a simple and satisfactory solution.
