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  • From: "Jill Bussiere" <jdt AT itol.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Yellow striped cucumber beetles
  • Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 07:30:01 -0500

Pat,
I have noticed that I have fewer pests and diseases as the years go
by.
Perhaps it is just luck, but I don't think so.
The only bugs I have to even think about are potato beetles - and I
only
pick them off 2 or 3 times, and still have a good crop. Of course, if you
plant the blue or purple potato plants, even ones where the potatoes have
just blue skins, like Caribe, those plants have fewer bugs.

Jill

-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Pat
Meadows
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 7:25 AM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Yellow striped cucumber beetles


On Wed, 31 May 2006 06:20:29 -0400, you wrote:

>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>>From what I have read...and have been learning..when the soil is at it's
>peak or pretty darn good happy, there are less bugs to be had. Ruth Stout
>said it, Elliot Colmen has said it and I am willing to be that any other
>totally organic gardner would agree. It all has to do with micronutrietnts
>and soil levels that hinder or "bring on" the bad bugs. Just like with
>weeds in your soil, they tell you what is good and what is bad with your
>soil. Amending your soil, in my opionin, is the first and best organic way
>you can "creat" a happy environment for all. It takes time, patience and
>some money, but the end result is what we are all looking for.
>
While an advocate of organic gardening (it's the only thing
that makes sense to me in the long run - the only
sustainable way), I do wonder just a little bit about this.

It seems to me that this is defined thusly: if you have bad
insects, your soil, ipso facto, isn't good enough.

So then you improve your soil some more and you still have
bad insects: well, it's still not good enough. Can you
ever get there?

Is there anyone here who can say, *from personal
experience*, that he/she gardens organically, has improved
his or her soil, and notices fewer insect depredations on
the crops?

If so, it would be nice to hear it, wouldn't it?

I cannot say that I have noticed this when gardening
organically. The same problems continue, in my experience,
year after year (cabbage butterflies, for one). I know how
to cope with them, I just do not find that they diminish as
soil improves.

So I wonder about other peoples' experiences in this
respect?

Cheers,
Pat



--
Gardening in northern Pennsylvania.

Eat local food, change the world for the better!
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