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biodiversity working for your garden

>From: Jim McCue <mccue@hillhouse.ckp.edu>
>Subject: biodiversity/ No tomatoes 1998
>Sender: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
>Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 10:31:59 -0500 (EST)
>
> at the microbial level, the more bugs the better.  Disease can't be
> eradicated -genetic change will always stay ahead of us - Humankind may
> master all the bigger species, not the stuff too small to see (maybe just
> my bias.)   Encouraging living things in general - e.g. by composting -
> provides balance, so e.g. you may lose one crop but gain  in overall
> field health by not trying to fight the bad guys so much, huh?

I agree with Jim.  I think balance is the thing - in my personal
experience, when there is some sort of heavy infestation or lots of
disease, it is usually due to some sort of inbalance.  When I get a
client to mulch heavily and permanently, plant according to the
species needs and in 'tiers' to create various habitats, and to
encourage birds and beneficial insects, then their gardens thrive
more easily without addition of 'questionable' chemicals.  Healthy
soils, replete with decaying organics, create microcosyms of life
which foster the natural 'checks and balances' that hold pests
and diseases at bay.  If you learn to live with the small amount
of 'problem' to be found under this system, you are repaid with
overall better health of the garden.  When you decide to take on
the control and monitoring of these systems yourself, it is a big
job which can seldom be done as well as what you 'unbalance' in the
process.  Clients are generally converted within one season, and
ALWAYS note that there is less maintenance, more enjoyment, and
less cost!!

 Sean A. O'Hara                     sean.ohara@ucop.edu
 710 Jean Street                    http://www.dla.ucop.edu/sao
 Oakland, California  94610-1459    h o r t u l u s   a p t u s
 (510) 987-0577                     'a garden suited to its purpose'
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