Learn, Grow, Eat & Go! Series | Page 9

BUG

WATCH

Welcome to Molly's Bug Watch!

Your resource for everything creeping and crawling in your garden.

Congratulations on starting your garden! It won’t be long before you’ll start to notice insects on the plants. They may be pest, they may be beneficial, or they may be benign. It is important to remember that not every insect on your plants are necessarily harmful.

In order to keep insects from ruining your garden, here are a few tips to consider as you start your beds:

1.Choose plant varieties that are meant for this area. Heat, lack of water, poor soil, and extreme sun are all things that may affect your plants and cause stress. Stressed plants will always have more insects. Chose plants that are adapted for this region.

2.Plant at the correct time of year and location. The point is to keep these plants healthy and happy. Plants that need full sun shouldn’t be in the shade and vice versa. If they have to work hard just to survive, they aren’t going to have the strength to combat insects.

3.Water and fertilize.

Healthy plants = happy plants. Healthy plants usually experience less insect loads and less damage due to insects.

4.Don’t overcrowd.

This makes more hiding places for bad bugs to hang out and multiply. Give your plants space.

5.Maintain weeds in the garden beds and around the garden. Weeds provide harborage for resting adults and a spot to lay eggs. Also consider this when you are putting your beds in – too close to easements and natural areas means more weeds.

Should you come across a garden foe between newsletters please take a picture and email it to the Master Gardener Hotline at [email protected].

WEEK #1: PROACTIVE PEST CONTROL