I try to limit my consumption of bananas because of the great distance they have to travel to get to my local grocery store. I haven’t cut them out of my diet completely yet. I decided to try burring a shredded banana peel around my calendula to see if it’s at all effective in discouraging aphids from feeding on the plant’s life-giving sap.
My golden fennel is also covered with aphid larvae.
Ladybugs and ladybug larvae feed on aphids. The larvae look nothing like the glossy winged adults. I’ve always thought they have a prehistoric look with their spiky bodies. I found this little guy (or girl?) crawling around on my kumquat tree, which as far as I can tell is quite free of aphids. I moved him over to my infested tarragon plant where he immediately began feasting. You can see the carnage pretty well in full screen mode. After a couple weeks of eating he will attach his backside to a leaf and begin the transformation into an adult ladybug.
This biological pest control has worked well for me in the past. Luckily, there is a bush near my office that is usually filled with ladybug larvae at this time of year and I’ve transferred many in a jar to my plants that have fallen under aphid attack. Ladybugs are often for sale at garden centers and even through mail order sites, but I’ve read many accounts from people who’ve attempted to introduce the adults to their gardens and then watched them all fly away. When it comes to this kind of interference with nature for the sake of growing my own food, I feel better about transferring them locally (I collect them within a couple miles of my home) than I do about the idea of bringing in a bunch of bugs from far away—except for the red wigglers of course which are contained and cannot survive without a supplied food source.
As the warm, humid weather roles in and the plants and trees fill out, bugs are hatching in masses. They descend on our gardens and our homes looking for food and water. In large numbers the “intruders” can threaten the structural stability of buildings, contaminate food supplies, and pose health risks. Reports in the local national news suggest that mild winter we had will likely lead to higher than average insect populations this summer, and extra precautions may be required to fortify our homes and protect our bodies— particularly from mosquitos and ticks, which are known to carry disease. Those of who grow food fight these tiny enemies on yet another frontier. These next several posts will be about my attempts at chemical-free, trash-free pest control.
Above is a calendula plant from my garden. If you look closely you can see that the bud and the new leaves are covered with aphids. If I leave the parasites untouched, they will most likely devour the plant, so I am forced to take action. I want to choose a method of extermination or deterrence that is natural and effective.
I did some research and I found a ton of useful information. One fact that really caught my attention is that ants “farm” aphids for the honeydew they produce. The ants will actually keep the aphids in their nests during the winter and then bring them out to host plants in the spring. The ants will carry the aphids around from plant to plant to continue feeding. I have always noticed little sugar ants near and around aphids, but I never knew what they were up to! I have seen a ton of ants around the property I live on—in fact I’m also working finding ways of keeping them out of the apartment (more on this soon). So it turns out, one line of defense against the aphids is to figure out how to keep ants away.
Other natural aphid repellent tricks include:
Squashing a few aphids around the infested plants to release a chemical signal that makes the other aphids drop from the plants and leave.
Sprinkling a barrier of charcoal powder, calcium dust, or bonemeal around the base of the plant.
A mild soap spray can be used to strip them of their protective wax coating, dehydrating them. Mix 1 tablespoon of Castile soap to 1 gallon of warm water. Adding a teaspoon of neem oil to that mix can make it more potent. To the aphids, the neem oil has a bitter taste, so they will not eat the leaves treated with it. And the oil will prevent the larvae from growing into adults. I’ve used this mixture in the past on my tomato plants and have found it to be effective, but I’m not too keen on using the neem oil directly on the edible parts of plants because it’s difficult to wash off. For this reason I avoid using it on herbs.
Burying shredded banana peels at the base of infested plant seems to be method that many gardeners swear by. The peels give the plants a shot of potassium too. However, I do wonder if this trick is not recommended if you have an ant problem!
A forceful spray of water is often enough to knock the aphids off the plant and may discourage the ants as well, but this is only a temporary fix.
Bulk Medjool dates at long last! This precious package-free treat came from the co-op in Wakefield. They’re kept in a jar in one of their refrigerators.
Pea greens from the City Farm stand at the farmer’s market.
Sweet, lime, and dark opal basil catching the last bit of sunlight in the evening. They’re starting to come along.
Fingerling Potatoes from Wishing Stone Farm. These are so delicious and they have an incredible texture. I’ve eaten them stir fried, stewed, and baked this week and I will definitely be looking for them again at tomorrow’s market.
Spent another day shooting inside the Materials Recycling Facility. Videos of materials in motion still to come…
Meanwhile check out these aluminum can bales, bundled together with wire, ready to be shipped.
Lettuce from Wishing Stone Farm in Little Compton, RI.
Today I returned to the Materials Recycling Facility at Rhode Island Resource Recovery to shoot video of materials being sorted through the new single stream system. The facility is currently running tests with materials collected from a few select towns. All of Rhode Island can expect to receive information on transitioning to the new system by mid June. This pile of materials had just been unloaded from a truck. As you can see, the recyclables are all mixed together. After traveling across belts, past sorting employees, through tumblers, sifters, and scanners, the materials are baled to be sent off to separate processing facilities.
Guided by Recycling Program Manager Krystal Noiseux and Operations Supervisor Brian Dubis, I carried a camera and tripod to the many sorting stations throughout the facility. We wore hard hats, reflective vests, safety glasses, and headsets (the sounds of the machinery and the materials in motion were incredibly loud). For safety reasons, visitors will not be allowed inside the sorting facility, so monitors inside the observation rooms will display the videos we collect of the stations and actions that are not visible from the viewing windows. I feel very lucky to be able to see firsthand all of the planning, labor, technology, and energy that goes into sorting Rhode Island’s recyclable materials. What happens inside the MRF is just one of so many steps involved in recycling our waste.
Sea Robin from The Local Catch.
The farm welcomes returned pots and they will happily reuse them. Everything was well labeled with popsicle stick tags and color-coded plastic tags that indicate the price of each plant. When customers check out, the plastic tags are collected in separate bins to be reused again and again. When I payed for my plants I ended up becoming a member to support the cause and enjoy growers benefits like free compost! This event is very special. It’s exciting to see so many people supporting urban agriculture in this town. Check out a complete list of the SCLT 2012 events here.
Live music played while shoppers picked and mingled.
In less than three weeks I’ll be heading to Denmark and the Netherlands to study bicycle transportation. I’ll be documenting...
Ariel’s party
Ariel’s party
Day off
