IF YOU PLANT IT, THEY WILL COME
BY WES DUREN, LANDSCAPE & CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISOR
Your yard is abounding with valuable garden allies that want to ease your gardening maintenance and keep your pest problems in check. These companions come in a multitude of shapes, sizes and colors, and offer an incredible diversity of garden-related services for little to no cost. Your garden helpers come from up, down and all around to help loosen your clay soils, keep disease and pest insects under control, make nutrients available to your plants, reduce drought stress, prevent soil erosion, promote abundant crop harvests and even help to clean our soil, air and water.
From birds, bees, bats, butterflies, bullfrogs and toads to beneficial fungus and microscopic organisms, you can take control of your gardens by promoting these helpful cohorts. As we encourage beneficial companions in our yard and gardens, we will eliminate the need for dangerous pesticides and chemical fertilizers. By building healthy soils along with planting trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals that cater to these wild helpmates, you will reduce your gardening work load and add unique wildlife that will entertain you and your family year-round.
Your soil is alive, containing billions of beneficial creatures per square inch, mostly invisible to the naked eye. Some of these tiny companions include: bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and arthropods. Larger soil critters include: earth worms, insects, spiders, beetles, slugs and burrowing mammals. This entourage of organisms feed on carbon-based materials such as decaying plant and animal remains as well as both living and dead soil organisms. While some of these creatures may want to injure your lawn and garden plants, the vast majority are beneficial, and want nothing more than to peacefully coexist. The first step to building beneficial soil life is to eliminate the use of chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides, such as weed killers and fungicides. These chemicals pollute your soil, killing your beneficial soil organisms and chase away larger animals. Without a healthy population of soil companions, soils degrade rapidly, leading to unhealthy plants and unhappy gardeners. Simply add compost to your lawn and gardens, and fertilize with an organic fertilizer in the spring and fall to encourage a well-balanced population of soil organisms.
Aside from soil-dwelling organisms, one of the most underappreciated groups of beneficials that cohabitate in your gardens are the vast insect hordes that find your plants by land and air. Helpful insects are those which pollinate plants, eat decaying plant and animal matter or control harmful pests. Common beneficial insects include: bees, ladybugs, parasitic wasps and green lacewings.
Bees are well known pollinators, though some bees are predatory or parasitic, killing pest insects. To United States agriculture alone, the annual value of honeybee pollination can be counted in billions of dollars. Bees pollinate about one-sixth of the world's flowering plant species and some 400 of its agricultural plants. Honey, pollen and royal jelly are all beneficial products that we can obtain from honeybees. Ladybugs are one of the best-known predatory insects, and host over 450 species in North America. The convergent lady beetle may eat its weight in aphids every day as a larva and consume as many as 50 aphids per day as an adult. While aphids are their choice cuisine, they will also eat mites, scales and thrips when aphid rations run low. Parasitic wasps are helpful garden companions because they are affective as pollinators and pest insect control. Female parasitic wasps use garden pests as nurseries for their young by injecting their eggs inside the host insect. Upon hatching, the parasitic wasp larvae will gorge on the host insect. There are more than 8,000 species in this family alone, and they control numerous pest insects including: aphids, grubs, beetles, weevils and many potentially destructive caterpillars. Adult parasitic wasps are of no threat to humans or pets, and only sting pest insects. Well-fed parasitic wasps make the best hunters, and require nectar from flowers to sustain themselves.
Lastly, the green lacewings are a pale green, soft-bodied insect, no more than an inch long, with golden yellow eyes. In the larval stage, lacewings are ferocious feeders and consume large numbers of a wide variety of insects including aphids, whiteflies, thrips, mealy bugs, psyllids, mites, small caterpillars, leafhoppers, as well as moth and other insect eggs. At Marvin’s Organic Gardens, we release a combination of lacewings, parasitic wasps and ladybugs in our greenhouse to keep pest insects in check, naturally. You can appeal to many of these beneficial insects by planting a wide diversity of perennials, annuals, trees and shrubs in your yard. Beneficial insects keep pest insect populations in check, and eliminate your need to resort to dangerous chemical pesticides.
With over 135 species of butterflies recorded in Ohio, we can attract an incredible array of these multi-colored flying flowers to our gardens. There are two types of plants that butterflies need: food plants for the hungry caterpillar stage and nectar plants for adults. Only 3 percent of butterfly eggs develop into beautiful butterflies, so plant selection and placement are imperative. Butterflies avoid shady and windy areas, so take advantage of planting locations with at least 5 hours of direct sunlight, sheltered from wind. We can cater to butterflies additional need for salt and minerals by using plastic liners to hold shallow depressions of water mixed with garden soil to form mud puddles. Also, wait until late April to cut back dead perennial stems in your garden to prevent destroying hibernating adult butterflies, their pupae, or their eggs. Some of the most low maintenance plants used to attract our whimsical winged wonders are: Anise Hyssop, Aster, Bee Balm, Black Eyed Susan, Butterfly Weed, Buttonbush, Chaste Shrub, Eupatorium, French Marigolds, Gay feather, Globe Thistle, Impatiens, Lilac, Milkweed, Mimosa Tree, Passion Flower Vine, Phlox, Plumbago, Purple Coneflower, Sedum, Summersweet Shrub, Sunflower, Tickseed, Yarrow and Zinnia.
Who can resist the symphony of songbirds, the tenacious work ethic of a hummingbird or the beauty of a gold finch as it darts through the garden in search of food or nesting materials? You can allure birds to your yard from miles around by using plants that provide both food and habitat. The more birds you attract, the fewer pest insects you will have to contend with in your gardens. Birds cherish the succulent fruit of native shrubs and trees, and protein -rich seeds from perennials and grasses. Beyond food, birds utilize such plants for nesting materials and for protection from predators. The greater diversity of trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses one grows attracts a greater variety of birds. This wealth of plant diversity will also help to extend the season in which seeds and fruit ripens, ultimately prolonging the period of energy rich food for the birds.
To protect birds and our native plant communities, we should encourage growing plants indigenous to our area. Birds will disperse the fruit of whichever plants we present to them, native or non-native. Plants such as the notorious and invasive honeysuckle were introduced by humans from Asia and have been widely dispersed by both birds and woodland animals. Such plants are quickly taking over natural areas and crowding out diverse native plant groups that are more valuable for wildlife. If you recognize invasive plants in your yard, remove them, or have us help you replace them with native Ohio species. Some native trees that our birds love are: Serviceberry, American Fringe Tree, Smooth and Staghorn Sumac, Flowering Dogwood and Devil’s Walking Stick. There are a host of native shrubs that will draw in the birds, but a few of our favorites are: Elderberry, Spicebush, Winterberry Holly and Arrow wood Viburnum, as well as Gray and Red Osier Dogwoods.
From 3” groundcovers to 14’ Ohio prairie giants, there is a niche in every garden for perennials. Perennials can add four seasons of interest to our gardens, but hold even more intrigue to the birds. Throughout the seasons, birds can be viewed scanning perennials for insects, nesting materials, high protein birdseed, coverage from predators, and in some cases, such as with the native cup plant, a place to perch for a cool sip of rainwater. Marvin’s Organic Gardens grows a large diversity of bird-attracting perennials for your gardens. Some of our favorites are purple, white, yellow and pale Coneflowers, Giant Coreopsis, Garden Phlox, Golden Rods, Gay feathers, Joe-Pye, Anise Hyssop and Perennial Sunflower. Last but not least, no bird garden is complete without the addition of native ornamental grasses. Grasses help to animate ones gardens as the wind blows through or as birds perch atop delicate stems to access the seed heads. Grasses add contrast to gardens containing primarily trees and shrubs and help to support leggy perennials. Birds take advantage of grasses for coverage, nesting materials and food. Our top five native grasses for bird gardens are Blue Switch Grass, Prairie Dropseed, Big Blue Stem, Little Blue Stem and Indian Grass. No matter what type of soil or sun exposure you have, there is a large group of bird-loving Ohio native plants perfect for your gardens. Bird feeders and birdhouses are other welcome additions to those who want to promote year-round bird activity in their yard.
Weighing in at a whopping 3-10 grams, hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world. Their hearts beat up to 1,260 times per minute and can fly up to 60 miles per hour when diving for nectar. These remarkable flying flowers will visit an average of 1,000 blossoms and eat up to eight times their body weight in nectar per day. Deep-tubed blooms are most suitable for the hummingbird’s long tongue, and in addition to nectar, the hummingbirds are attracted to tiny insects within flowers, adding a rich source of protein to their diet. To the benefit of gardeners, hummingbirds help control garden pest such as aphids, gnats, mosquitoes, spiders and caterpillars.
One can attract hummingbirds to their yard by mixing 1 cup of granulated sugar with 4 cups of boiling water. Avoid red food dye in the solution, because it can injure their tiny kidneys. Once your mixture has cooled, pour the solution into a clean hummingbird feeder and place in an area that is quiet and absent from traffic, preferably in an area that can be viewed from a window or patio. Another way to allure these fantastic fliers is to cater to their planting needs. Native wildflowers generally produce more nectar than their cultivated cousins, and red-tinted blooms attract more hummingbirds than other colors. Extend your seasonal interest and nectar production by using plants such as: Bee Balm, Bleeding Hearts, Cardinal Flower, Cleome, Columbine, Coral-bells, Creeping Phlox, Flowering Quince, Foxglove, Fuchsia, Impatiens, Lily, Morning Glory Vine, Obedient Plant, Penstemon, Red Hot Poker, Sage, Scarlet Runner Beans, Snapdragons and Trumpet Honeysuckle Vine.
Our nocturnal flying friends include bats and owls; both are welcome gardening companions. Owls can catch over 11,000 mice in their lifetime and will also go after other rodents such as: rats, voles, gophers, moles and skunks. Because owls have an awfully poor sense of smell, they are one of few predators that can palate skunk. While owls are known for taking over empty crow, heron and hawk nests, you can attract them to your yard by providing nesting boxes or perches. There are many owl box designs, with materials ranging from wood to PVC tubing. Whichever design you choose, it is best to affix the nesting box 10’ to 15’ high on a tree, post or side of home. The inside of your owl box should be lined with pine needles, dried leaves or carpet to provide extra insulation for the owlets. The entry to the box should be between 3”-6”, depending on the owl species you are trying to attract and can face any direction except north, to prevent unwelcome cold winter breeze. Good ventilation and drainage is exceptionally important for your owl box. Drilling ¾” ventilation holes along the upper sides of the nest box and 5/8” drainage holes on the bottom of the box will create an environment more conducive to your owls natural habitat.
Our smaller nocturnal ally, the bat, is a voracious predator of mosquitoes, gypsy moths, wasps, beetles and gnats. Since many of their preferred meals are insects with an aquatic life stage, such as mosquitoes, they prefer to roost near water. Bats are the number one predator of night flying insects and the only mammals known to fly. One bat can consume an astonishing 1,000 mosquitoes in just one hour. Bats tend to roost in caves, trees, attics or other low light structures. You can attract bats to your yard by installing a bat house in similar areas required for owl boxes. You will be more likely to draw bats into your bat house by positioning it in area of western sun exposure, allowing the house to absorb and hold extra heat, much preferred by the bats. As with owl boxes, there are many design plans you can use if you choose to build your own, or you can purchase bat houses at your local bird retail store.
Frogs and toads make a great addition to the organic garden and can consume up to 100 insects each nigh, totaling of over 10,000 in a 3-month growing season! Not only are our amphibian friends excellent hunters, but they also provide us with a melodic chorus during their mating season, right through the summer. Frogs, toads and other amphibians are facing significant decline due to loss of breeding habitat and man-made chemical pollutants. The great news is that you can protect, nurture and ultimately benefit from them in your yard with a few simple tips.
Amphibians love water, so consider building an ornamental pond with sloped sides that will allow our warty companions easy access in and out of the pond. Many amphibians prefer to live and breed in small, quiet pools and may be unable to successfully reproduce in water gardens with a current. If you choose to install a waterfall or aerator, it should pump less than 1,000 gallons per hour to limit water flow and should be positioned at the far end of the pond, rather than in the middle. If you are catering primarily to amphibians, keep fish out of your pond because they are natural predators of frogs and will eat their eggs and tadpoles. Adding a great diversity of plants in and around your pond will attract insects and other organisms that your frogs and toads will enjoy. Vegetation planted around your pond will also provide a habitat for a wide range of amphibians. Water lilies, flag iris, water lettuce, water hyacinth and arrowheads are a few plants that can be used in your pond to promote more oxygen and habitat for your amphibians. Rushes, sedges, golden ray, hibiscus, cardinal flower and swamp milkweed are excellent natives for your ponds margin and help to encourage breeding. The addition of a couple of clay plant pots, placed on their side and partly buried, helps to provide extra shelter and shade. You can also provide sun-basking rocks, small brush piles and muddy depressions around your pond margin to further encourage a greater population and diversity of amphibian companions to your yard. Frogs and toads love to play in the mud, so no need to worry about letting some soil and sediment build up on the bottom. Lastly, never allow chemical fertilizers or pesticides in your yard, because amphibians are extremely sensitive to pollutants; one application could injure or kill these garden allies.
With all of the safe and affective pest control offered to us by nature, there is never a need for dangerous chemical quick fixes. Most pest insects become immune to pesticides and pass their resistant genes to their offspring, who then require even more toxic insecticide applications to gain the same level of control. Pest insects cannot build resistance to the predatory microbes, insects, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, that devour them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can take advantage of these beneficial garden friends and lure them into your garden by catering to their food and habitat needs. By developing ecosystems for these beneficials, you help to promote safe and sustainable gardening solutions with minimal work and expense required. Rather than relying on man-made products that have adverse health and environmental repercussions, simply apply compost to your lawn and gardens and plant as many trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and grasses in your yard and community as possible. If you plant it, they will come. Go Organic. It’s only natural!
|
