GARDENING TO HELP MAKE LIFE, NOT TAKE LIFE – SUBURBAN FARMER
SUBURBAN FARMER DOES NOT use TOXIC chemicals. WE ENCOURAGE ALL LIFE. Beat the bugs with psychological and biological tactics and reuse waste at the same time! This is not just for PERTH but for the WORLD
Like Human parents, the parents of the baby bugs we call ‘pests’ are looking for the safest and best environment to raise their young. The better the environment, the greater the chance that their young will succeed into adults and take their turn at continuing the species.
As we develop and area for housing, we lose native biological assistance and biodiversity, along with sacred places and plants that would otherwise be the NURSERY. As we create suburbs and such, the problem now is that these native endemic bugs still need places to lay eggs, they still need food sources and water sources, safety and seclusion.
Your garden is likely where something used to nurse and raise babies. Life still continues and now your garden and most backyard veggie gardens, are the perfect habitat to raise baby bugs, a lot of which are not endemic. So the balance of NATURE is compromised. Predator and Prey environmental mechanics are out of balance and sometimes, biological help isn’t there on time or at all for our needs.
Regular watering and plentiful composts and fertilisers result in lush, tender growth that is perfect for young healthy and hungry terrestrials and subterranean life. Leaving your garden one evening, picture perfect and ideal to a creepy crawly, chewed up patch of plants.
So how do we help balance restoration of these bugs and pests? This is going to sound counter intuitive, but, by allowing bugs, and more bugs, and even more bugs to flourish this will allow BLESSED MUMMA and PAPPA EARTHS DIVINE WORK come forward and balance will start to restore.
See, we do need bugs. Bugs for Bugs as we say. Predators need a food source. Prey need a place to lay eggs also.
“This all sounds good and all but what about my plants!”
Yes, this is important too. Your garden is part of the ECOSYSTEM. It too must feed and give life from your garden. But, how can we balance things so everyone can share?
In order to help both native endemic and non native pest parents to raise their young, you need to present a native scenario via plants and shrubs and habitat and also a slightly less ideal environment in terms of lush nitrogenic growth. This means that the endemic bugs will have a place and to reestablish and also the non endemic have a chance to flourish without too much compromising of balance.
However, if you really feel you can not wait for balance to come and acute action is needed then using deterrents and distractions over harsh chemicals and toxins is my advice. Nature is cute but NOT ACUTE. Meaning Nature is slow and chronic so we too must learn to be LOVEwise and observe.
Here Are Two Ways to Give Pest Parents Bad Vibes:
Aloe Vera, Garlic and Chilli Spray
Here is what you need:
1 x Aloe Vera leave for the gel. Higher Alkaloid varieties are favoured like ALOE FEROX and ALOE BARBADENSIS MILLER – WHICH IS ALSO THE BEST FOR US TOO ALTHOGH ACCESS TO ANY ALOE WILL DO.
1 x Bulb of Garlic
1 x Whole Chilli OPTIONAL
1/4 x Cup of Vegetable Oil OPTIONAL
5 x Essential Oil Drops of your preferred choice
1 x TSP Organic Dishwashing Liquid
1 x 1L Dechlorinated water for boiling
Chop and boil garlic and chilli in one litre of water. When cooled, add Aloe gel and start to mix with vegetable oil/essential oils until emulsified and fully combined. Then slowly add the dishwashing liquid and stir gently to combine.
Place into a 2l hose attachment feeder bottle and fill to 2L with dechlorinated water. Spray over and around your vegetable plants, garden beds, paths, thoroughfare, walls, roofs etc. When bugs land on your vegetables they will most likely decide that something isn’t quite right here and to look elsewhere for a place to lay their eggs.
Bluffing
Species such as the white cabbage moth are very territorial. If you scatter your vegetable garden with enough fake moths, prospective parents will decide that there is too much competition for their young and seek to raise them elsewhere. Broken up into large pieces, white eggshells scattered around the garden will work or you can cut out a rough moth shape from used plastic milk bottles, even white bead clips. Attach them to small stakes or hang from string to “flutter” around. Inter cropping with Fennel, Dill and Rue will also benefit as a distraction and wonderful food for us also.
Please note that this concept applies to transient or flying pests. Those pests that take up residence in your garden (such as snails and slaters) can be harder to fool.
BLESSINGS AND LIFE FOR LIFE RAS MARK SUBURBAN FARMER