Controlling Pests
We've got next year's garlic planted and mulched in. It's a slow, cool, rainy day, so it's a good time to think about how we're going to do things at TPS Farms.
People have asked what we're going to do for pest control. We want to eventually get our Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) stamp, which is roughly equivalent to the USDA Organic certification but more practical for small growers. To meet this standard we have to be very careful using chemical inputs of any sort.
We're keeping pests and diseases out as much as possible. We have an advantage in this because there is no industrial agriculture near us. We are also as closed cycle we can. We are going to propagate seed stock and plant starts as possible ourselves. Most of the mulch we will use will come from our own land. This saves us money and keeps us from possibly importing disease. Any plants or even mulch that do come from outside will be quarantined from the main production areas for a while.
Keeping the environment in balance is key to our strategy. With industrial agriculture, huge fields are densely planted under a single crop. Those crops have usually been bred or engineered for maximum output per acre, with pest and disease resistance being bred out along the way. We are growing much less specialized crops, at much lower density.
Our standard bed is three feet wide, with a three foot path between beds. Just that small gap between beds slows the spread of lots of nasty things. We will also companion plant: putting beds of pest resistant plants between the ones that are more susceptible. And we will never have monoculture plots. We are measuring our land in 1/10 acre plots. That's 4356 square feet, the size of a typical McMansion. That is the largest area we really foresee being under any one crop.
Another key to keeping pests down is using natural predators such as ladybugs. The picture at the top is of a ladybug gator -- the larval form. These little guys eat about 500 aphids per day. The adults eat about twice that. But to keep them around we have to be vigilant about not accidentally breaking their life cycle. You can see the eggs on a leaf here:
We keep a close lookout and make sure not to disturb clusters of eggs like this. We also use simple manual techniques like water spritzing to discourage mite infestations, and clipping and burning any citrus scale before it becomes a problem.
We will use some specific herbicides, but only ones that meet both the Organic and Certified Naturally Grown standards. BT is commonly used in Organic production, but isn't allowed under CNG. We also worry about it being over applied, overly broad, and too persistent for good soil management. So we won't be using it.
We have tried neem oil with mixed results. It will certainly be something we continue working with when and where it does well. We also use spinosad -- an extract from bacterial fermentation. So far it seems the best 'outside help' we've got to combat the bad bugs. It is essentially non-toxic to mammals, doesn't kill off our ladybugs or pollinators, and doesn't build up in or on plants or soil.
Even with the 'good' pesticides we use them as a last resort. In the past two years of our home garden we have only used a few ounces of spinosad and need oil combined.
We think this is the best way to make real food.