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Symphylans



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> 
> Please excuse my ignorance--but what are symphylans?  
> > How do you know you have symphylans?  IOW, what techniques did you use
> > to identify them?  I have never been able to identify them in my soil,
  

Most west coast vegetable gardeners are unaware of how prevalent and
damaging these little critters can be.

Imagine a quarter-inch long "centipede-type" creature, with 12 pairs of
legs and 2 long feelers on the head. They are white in colour, very tiny,
avoid light, and more very, very rapidly. Several dozen can be hiding in a
shovelful of soil, and only someone intently looking for them would ever
realize their presence.

Symphalans eat rotting organic matter and tender emerging root tips. They
do most damage to plants with the least vigorous root systems, such as
spinach, beets and cauliflower. Its only predator is the ground beetle.

Diazinon will not kill them - only slow them down - unless you want to use
massive doses! Commercial growers use the restricted pesticide Dyfonate,
which is highly toxic to humans, (a good reason to eat organic!).

Home gardeners have limited options - diatomaceous earth, (which is
expensive ); crop rotation techniques; or simply diverting their attention
to something else.  They love buckwheat, and it can be  spread amongst
your vegetable seedlings and easily removed later. You might also
broadcast large amounts of vegetable seeds, in the hope that most will
survive.

Next year I'm going to put my beets in the ground as healthy transplants.
I've found that once they are an inch or 2 in height, their survival rate
improves.

Bill Verchere, 
Ladysmith, BC Canada  
                  
   Visit my Giant Pumpkin and Extreme Skiing Page at
   http://www.island.net/~billv/
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