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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Why women in India are farming with diverse plants – and without pesticides

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: Emery Mitchamore <emitch@att.net>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Why women in India are farming with diverse plants – and without pesticides
  • Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 09:08:45 -0500

On our four Texas Hill Country acres, I tell visitors that, as a one-man operation, I don’t have time or energy for pests, so I don’t have any.  The truth is that I’m absolutely amazed at the absence of pests.  For now, I’m attributing this phenomena to a multi-year focus on diversity, with emphasis on natives. For example, I don’t think that there is any place on the property where a species is repeated within ten feet, except for patches of native perennials. Hope it lasts!

E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
www.hillcountrynatives.net

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On Jun 24, 2014, at 6:55 AM, Harvey Ussery <harvey@themodernhomestead.us> wrote:

On 06/23/2014 10:11 PM, tradingpost wrote:
53A8DE34.3010304@lobo.net" type="cite">Good on chemicals. Most growers don't suspect the reason they can't rely on natural predators to handle bugs.  When aphids start appearing in our spinach & kale, ladybugs just show up from nowhere. No poisons to deter them.  ~paul
 
I've just seen an excellent example of the phenomenon, Paul. I was seeing more potato beetle activity in my potato plantings than I usually do. So I monitored the beds closely to keep that early population from exploding, removing both adults and the little dull red larvae at all stages daily--squish! Then, about a week ago--no more larvae. Not one, in any of the plantings. And haven't seen a one since. Obviously it took awhile for the predator populations to catch up, but once they did, the natural control was complete.

~Harvey

--
Harvey in northern Virginia
www.themodernhomestead.us

My book The Small-Scale Poultry Flock (Chelsea Green, 2011) is available at www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/the_smallscale_poultry_flock
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