Re: A Summation On Japanese Beetles
- Subject: [GWL] Re: A Summation On Japanese Beetles
- From: Robyn Williamson r*@optusnet.com.au
- Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2005 19:19:33 +1100
- List-archive: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/private/gardenwriters>
Woops! So sorry about that, Jeff! I totally agree with you. The more people we can educate to garden without biocides, the better it will be for us all in the long run. Biodiversity in the soil is just as important as biodiversity above ground so that a natural balance can be reached. A large area of one type of plant will undoubtedly attract large numbers of the insects that feed on that plant and the "pests" will stay as long as their food supply lasts. The thing that worries me most about home gardeners is whether they are measuring out the correct amount of concentrate. Handling the concentrate is a serious health hazard and I don't think it's appropriate in the hands of the average consumer. Non-selective biocides kill your predatory organisms too, of course. When the next generation of "pests" emerge they can be more resistant to the chemical used and often there are too few predators around to keep the numbers in check. Using chemicals is indeed a vicious cycle. You need to keep on using more and different ones. There's a good download (352 KB) available at http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/articles.htm called "The Soil Food Web ... Tuning in to the world beneath our feet" by Mary-Howell R. Martins.
On Thursday, February 3, 2005, at 04:01 am, Dan wrote:
The definitive piece to which you are referring was written by Jeff not me.
I only wish I had.
Best regards, Robyn Williamson North Western Sydney Community Seed Savers www.seedsavers.net _______________________________________________ gardenwriters mailing list gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters GWL has searchable archives at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos Post gardening questions/threads to "Gardenwriters on Gardening" <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org> For GWL website and Wiki, go to http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
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