New Year's Resolutions Part II

If you were patient enough to read through "New Year's Resolutions Part I" you already know my stance on pesticides, non-organic fertilizers, and the use of other biochemical warfare in the yard.  It's a sad assumption some people make that without those tools in the arsenal, a beautiful yard is unattainable.  I believe the opposite is true, your yard will be more naturally lovely, more carefree, and less of a burden if you choose plants and shrubs that are naturally pest resistant.

That said, sometimes it's not possible to have a yard completely pest proof, especially if you enjoy growing your own vegetables.  I recently read an article in the September/October 2012 of "All Animals" magazine, which is a publication sent to me courtesy of my membership in the Humane Society of the United States and may seem like an unlikely gardening resource but surprisingly isn't, called "Backyard Harmony".  In this article were many reader suggestions about how to gently discourage pests from eating your yard.  Such suggestions as using soap shavings (Irish Spring soap was mentioned due to its strong scent, but if you are really looking for a humane treatment try picking a strong smelling soap produced by a corporation that doesn't test on animals), dog hair (from a dog's hairbrush), and dirty socks with a human scent to deter animals from their gardens.  Another good suggestion for keeping crows out of the garden is to hang used CDs from tree branches, or mount CDs on stakes, as the birds don't like the glare from the shiny side of the disk.

There are other suggestions, too, such as fencing or netting, over the area which you wish to keep pest free.  It's good to either consult with other gardeners, ask at a local nursery, or thumb through a magazine or two and see what suggestions appeal to you.  I will usually keep a good article in my gardening library in the event I'd like to go back and review it at a later time (usually in winter when Spring doesn't seem to be arriving fast enough!).

New Year's Resolutions Part I

If your New Year's resolutions for 2013 include living a more harmonious lifestyle with your neighbors in nature, then this post is for you.

I've always found it ironic that some people will build a house in the urban outskirts where coyote and deer have always roamed as they enjoy the naturalistic surroundings, then complain when the family cat goes missing or the leaves and buds are eaten off their newly installed shrubbery.  I may be an overly sympathetic animal lover but I do think it's the responsibility of each and every one of us to live like we are caretakers of the earth and its other inhabitants.  I worry that pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals may have long term effects on our health, our pets' health, and the environment in general.

While I intended this post in the blog to be about living with your furry four footed neighbors, I should probably start with a paragraph on living with insects.  In our weekend paper (Maine Sunday Telegram) there is a regular article written by Tom Atwell on Maine Gardening.  I don't usually read it unless the topic grabs my attention (but it's another resource that you may want to use when learning about gardening).  In October, Mr. Atwell wrote an article about the Green Bug Education Program (which was designed to help people find alternate solutions to using pesticides in their landscape).  In this article, he quoted a pest management specialist who stated that "from 1995-2007, the use of lawn pesticides in Maine has gone from 800,000 pounds a year to 6.2 million pounds."

I am floored by that statistic.  Just off the sidewalk curb of my street are intermittent storm drains.  Before we had sewer work done on our street last summer, these drains all lead to the bay.  When we experienced heavy rains, I would think of my next door neighbors who valued  greenness of their lawn above all else, to the point where they overfed it, over treated it for pests, and constantly used their irrigation system (even when it rained).  All that chemical waste going directly into the home of fish, birds, and other living creatures who exist at our mercy.  And I would think to myself, any educated person should be bothered by that scenario, yet it seems not nearly enough are.

And as my neighbors' lawn turned brown (most likely due to the over development of thatch) I felt little satisfaction since the pollution of the local environment was hardly worth it.  Of course, they blamed grubs for the dissolution of the green lawn, but in looking at it closely it was fairly obvious that no grubs could penetrate that thick carpet of roots.  Plus, grub damage is very easy to spot.  Our lawn was eaten by grubs (probably because the neighbors all around us used pesticides, so we were the best meal around) and the first sign that you have a problem is when you spot a murder of crows all dining in your yard on a frequent basis.  Then, you will notice that your grass is all brown in patchy spots.  When you go to pick it up a clump of brown grass to see if it's dead, you'll see that your patches of turf have no roots and is just lying on top of the ground like it was carelessly tossed there.  If you seed over those spots, you may not have any better luck.  Grubs love the young roots, and they reproduce like crazy.  So, if you discover you have a problem, you can try the milky spore (three applications of this bacteria in years one and two, may make a difference from years 3-15, but patience is key) or you can find an attractive ground cover that doesn't taste good to grubs and buy a flat of it.

Another good reason for choosing plants that do not attract the attention of pests is that these plants are easier to care for.  If you select a plant that requires consistent use of bug spray, then it becomes a time and resource consumer.  When choosing a tree for our front yard, I not only wanted one that would mature into the right shape and size and could endure City living, but also one that was japanese beetle resistant.  Japanese beetles (who originate as grubs) love a lot of different trees and shrubs and are prolific in our area.  They will usually eat a plant down so that it looks unattractive, but won't actually kill it.  Still, I didn't want a big tree that looked eaten most of the time.  I found a sterling silver linden at the local nursery and it was recommended as being japanese beetle "resistant".   And in the same way a garment might be labeled as "water resistant" but not "water proof", japanese beetles may be a slight problem in certain beetle-favorable years.  I have noticed a little bite damage on the linden, but not so much that it looks bare or sad.  To the right is a photo of the sterling silver linden.  It was quite small when we planted it, as we could not afford a large tree, but were rewarded with fast growth.  It now provides great shade in summer.  We used no pesticides on it, and even with slight beetle damage each year, it bounces right back the next.

In my next post, I'll address the four footed pests in the yard.