permaculture

[Alan Post <alanpost@sunflowerriver.org>]

I live in the Rio Grande Bosque in New Mexico, and use the same
strategy as Michael.  Mulch partway through the first year after
seedlings are established, and maintain a mulch layer after that.

I also haven't observed sowbugs, pill bugs, or earwigs to be a
problem.  I actually maintain separate habitat for them (we call it
"Bug Town", because that habitat attracts skinks and mice, which
attracts road runners, &c.

-Alan

On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 11:14:03PM -0700, Michael Pilarski wrote:
> Hello Neil,
> 
> Here are a few observations from someone who lives in a semi-arid climate a 
> lot like Reno.  
> 
> I have sowbugs and earwigs as part of my garden fauna but they do me no 
> harm that I can tell.  
> 
> My practice with new plantings (1st year) is to weed meticulously and do 
> not apply mulch.  Everything works fine. 
> 
> After the first year, I do mulch perennials, berries, trees, biennials and 
> everything works fine.  
> 
> I think, in your case, it is a matter of timing the mulch.  Just don't use 
> it the first year when your new plants are at the tender seedling stage.  
> Actually I think you can mulch partway through the first year in most cases.
> 
> Good luck,
> 
> Michael Pilarski, 40 years of gardening
> 
> 
> So perhaps your solution is to not mulch in year one
>
> 
> 
> --- On Mon, 7/18/11, Neil Bertrando <neilbertrando@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> From: Neil Bertrando <neilbertrando@gmail.com>
> Subject: [permaculture] mulch and arthropod herbivore habitat
> To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Monday, July 18, 2011, 1:56 PM
> 
> HI all,
> 
> Have people dealt with the situation where mulching areas in Zone I and II
> leads to excessive pest problems which eat all seedling starts?
> 
> We consistently have this problem here in Reno, NV in the high desert, and
> have stopped mulching our gardens for the most part for this reason.
> Sometimes we do light straw mulches, but we are straying away from deep
> mulch beds and no-till regimes.
> 
> Here's my assessment of the problem, and perhaps other people have dealt
> successfully with this issue.
> 
> pest populations increased by deep mulching
> 
>    - european earwigs
>    http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/european_earwig.htm
>    - sowbugs/rollypolly isopods
>    http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/flowers/note11/note11.html
> 
> 
> most info I have read does not include these as major crop pests however
> through direct observation we have seen them here to be the culprits.
> 
> they prevent seedling establishment eating them at the cotyledon stage, and
> even eat small trees when planted in an area with dense populations.
> 
> Strategies tried:
> 
>    - traps:soap and sugar, soy sauce and oil, beer, etc.  work for
>    established plants but don't drastically diminish populations and are 
> time
>    consuming
>    - diatomaceous earth: also works for established plants when applied at
>    night to feeding insects, time consuming, needs reapplication 
> consistently
>    - chicken food: grazing with chickens in late fall and early spring.
>     chickens eat them happily and we tried to get them in when small veggies
>    are not growing and at key stages in the insect life cycle to minimize
>    reproduction.  still not effective at diminishing populations to a level
>    where we can get seedlings established.
>    - transplanting in established seedlings: still get heavily eaten
>    - get plants established before the populations boom as weather warms:
>    works fairly well, but not a strategy for warm season crops and makes 
> fall
>    cropping difficult.
>    - raised beds: works for a while until populations get established (1-2
>    years) in the beds and structural material
> 
> so now we've stopped mulching heavily in Zone I and use mostly on-site
> generated mulch in Zone II, using only a scattered straw mulch to decrease
> wind and sun evaporation and a focus on row covers instead of mulch to
> achieve this function.  any off-site woody mulch needs to be composted
> through hot compost piles before being applied to the Zone I and II gardens.
>  and this seems to work well since there is no habitat for them in the
> garden.
> 
> My conclusion is that sheet mulching (and deep mulching) is not an effective
> strategy in our climate context for Zones I and II.  Has anyone else found
> this to be the case?  or are we just applying the technique incorrectly?
> 
> some thoughts are
> 
>    - that N is being tied up in the mulch, and the insects are relying upon
>    seedlings to fulfill this need, although this occurs in mulches with
>    relatively high manure content as well.
>    - natural foods and predators of these organisms are not in balance and
>    take years to come into balance (or are not present at all in our 
> climate?)
>    - mulch increases the humidity in summer and decreases the cold in winter
>    which allows populations to grow rapidly out of balance with plants.
>    - there is some other factor that is causing plants to lack hardiness and
>    become attractive to these organisms
> 
> This situation has been very disheartening to many beginning Permaculture
> gardeners who read about the wonderful benefits of mulch and have their
> veggie gardens decimated.  Any thought and suggestions would be very helpful
> for gardeners in our region.
> 
> Thanks,
> Neil
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