See below, or watch the video here. Shortly after dawn on a summer day that woke with the promise of sunshine, fluffy clouds and a cooling breeze, two government researchers set out into an orchard in Ontario. Their task was simple: Determine what - if anything - had survived the damaging chemical pesticide initiative that... Continue Reading →
How to Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden: Lesson 3 – Lawns and the No Till Garden.
Lawns Lawn is a waste of space. I know, I know…I love it too. It’s green in the winter and cool in the summer it looks tidy and it keeps nature on the fringes. I grew up with a lawn for playing and sledding on. It is my dogs’ recreation space, and I intend on... 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 →
Controlling Thrips with Beneficial Mites
In some areas, thrips begin to appear in early spring. Most of us become aware of thrips during a large influx late in the spring and throughout the summer. Thrips don't fly, rather, they tumble and in days of atmospheric convection, they (like many mites) use the electro-static conditions to levitate and travel large distances.... Continue Reading →