I’m lucky; Lucky-enough to have very few regrets. But there is one that’s not quite a regret, but if I delve too deeply into analyzing its causal events and my actions, it may just be. Or, maybe it’s just a bit of bad-luck: Losing a friend. I met a friend through some casual friends... Continue Reading →
The Many Colours of a September Harvest
Amazing! I had no concrete plans this weekend, so other than a soccer game, dinner out with the family and swimming with the kids, we spent the entire time in the garden. I knew I’d be out there a bit - a long-range trend shows cool, wet weather coming, so it may have been the... Continue Reading →
Know Your Bugs: Whitefly
No one knows how many whitefly species there are, but most of the ones we are concerned about seem to arrive to North America via Florida, and the bad ones stay. If you’re not a total bug-geek like me and you have chosen to read this article it is likely because you are familiar with... Continue Reading →
Know Your Bugs: Phytoseiulus persimilis
Since the popularization of the modern greenhouse in Victorian England, non-chemical, greenhouse pest-control, as we know it, has been practiced. It was before modern chemical pesticides were available, and it was at this same time that Phytoseiulus persimilis (common name: Persimilis) became cosmopolitan and the standard for two spotted spider mite control. Without the sophistication... Continue Reading →
Why your Cannabis Bio-Control Program Failed.
Disclaimer: This is in no way intended to dismiss the fact that there is peer-reviewed research needed on the interaction between cannabis varietals and invertebrates. I have noticed, first-hand, some common cannabis-related factors that are limiting, or preventing the success of beneficial insects - and in some cases, even killing them. In most of these... Continue Reading →
The Preventative Tetrahedron of Bio-Control: A simple “how to”
The most difficult hurdle for many, in their jump to bio-control from chemical reliance, is the need to switch the habit of reacting to pest pressure, with the habit of preventing pests in the first place. Prevention is essential in three ways: One, it works. Two, it is least expensive. Three, it gives you more... Continue Reading →
Let the Harvest Begin!
Harvesting early and managing summer pests
Solstice in the Garden
Spring is finished - and what a spring! It’s been sunny, dry, and hot and my garden is loving it (with the occasional sprinkler watering). Also loving this weather is everyone else! It seems like twice a week or more we’re sitting with friends on sun-baked patios. When we’re not, I’m sitting on my own,... Continue Reading →
Summer Brassica
It’s week 27. My attention to the garden tends to wane into the summer. Sometimes there is less to do, other times it is pure laziness. When it’s sunny and 28 degrees celsius I find it far more relaxing to grab a cool beer and watch my kids play in their little pool than being... Continue Reading →
