Healthy Soil, Happy Plants

This Saturday, DC Urban Gardener President Ed Bruske teamed up with Environmental Specialist Lorin O’Toole from the DC Dept. of the Environment to discuss Integrated Pest Management (IPM) at the Rosedale/Kingman Park Community Garden, an event organized by the Rosedale Citizen’s Alliance .

If you didn’t make it, you missed out on scoring some awesome garden toolkits from the DDOE, and also some terrific information from Ed. Since we can’t give you shovels over the Internet, here are a few things to think about when you consider IPM.

What is IPM? It's using an integrated approach to managing out garden pests, so we can control the pests that bug our plants without harming our soil, watershed, earth, air, micronutrients and those good buggies that make the world go round.  Integrated Pest Management is all about creating an environment that is well balanced.  Here’s IPM in 5 steps:

1. Healthy Soil.

To manage pests, we need to start at the root of our problems. Ensure your soil has the nutrients plants need and the healthy nematodes that create a good ecosystem by adding compost. “Soil is like your plants’ immune system,” pointed out one participant.

2. Happy Plants.

If your plants are weak, then the pests attack. Select varieties of plants that are well adapted to your conditions and are disease-resistant, and fertilize with compost tea.

3. Identify the Pest. 

Don’t just start spraying pesticides. Take the time to figure out what, exactly is all over your tomato’s leaves. (Anyone have a favorite pest id site? Here’s one of mine for vegetable garden pests.)

4. Is Action is Needed?

If a tomato plant gets a fungus late in the season – do you spray it?  Consider taking action only if you can’t live with the situation. Who cares if your tomatoes go a little wilty after giving you 50 pounds of fruit?

5. Use the least toxic approach first.

The best thing is sometimes to pull it up and start over, or pick off the bugs and squish ‘em.  Research various methods of attack online, in books or at a local Extension office. Try various methods of control before you spend money on expensive fertilizers and pesticides that can threaten the health of your garden, soil, water and air.

Posted by Mandie Yanasak.

Comments

[Kathy, Washington Gardener]

What was in the DDOE Garden Kits? Sounds cool - was at Brookside's Childrens Day recruiting lots of new, little gardeners. Most the kids were far more advanced in their plant knowledge than their parents - guess I should not have been surprised.