Garden bugs and how to kill them

By Rennie Phillips

Normally we don't have a lot of issues with our garden when it comes to bugs. Oh we have the normal bugs so don't get me wrong. We have tomato worms beginning in June or so. They will simply eat all the leaves off the top of tomato vines. We have worms that eat up our cabbages if we aren't paying attention. Then we also have potato bugs. Can't seem to make it through the summer without a bug that looks like a stink bug and eats cucumber and zucchini plants. But last year was the first year we had aphids and a small striped bug on our tomato plants. And we struggled with them.

I first sprayed with mineral oil and then insecticidal soap and several more non pesticide type sprays and it didn't seem to work at all. So finally I sprayed with malathion and seven and that did the trick. I really didn't want to spray with them but almost had to in the end. We lost about 125 tomato plants to aphids in one of our high tunnels. Between the aphids and those striped bugs virtually all the blossoms just disappeared off the tomato vines. No blossoms mean no tomatoes so we simply pulled the plants and replanted.

The symptom was, destroyed vines and no blossoms. That was the obvious symptom. But when I got to looking the aphids and the striped bugs were what caused the problem so in a way I looked at them as also a symptom. So I treated the symptoms on the plants. But what caused the problem with the aphids in the first place? I did a bunch of googling about aphids. I learned how they reproduce. Learned about the aphids dependence on ants. So in studying about aphids I think that some of the things I did caused or made the problem worse.

One cure is to pay attention to any ants in my greenhouse and high tunnels and outside garden. Ants and aphids go together so most likely where you find ants you will find aphids. Another cure is to be very meticulous about old plants and vines and such. Keep a clean house so to speak. But also don't provide a house for the aphids. I normally allow oat or wheat seed to come up by the newly planted tomato plants and then cut it off later to have a straw bed by the plants. Aphids require green plants to live so I'll use some plain straw this year.

But this same symptom and cause is true of about everything in our world. When you go to the doctor, you describe the symptoms and the doctor then looks for a cause and a cure. When your car is on the blink you describe the symptom and the mechanic then looks for the cause. But I think this is especially true about what we eat. People that I personally know today seem to be getting cancer at a far greater rate than when I was young. Back then they got skin cancer but that was about all. Today cancer strikes children to adults without respect for age. So sad to hear or look at children who are facing a battle with cancer. Some will live because of the treatments available today. Some won't.

But what is the cause or causes? I'm betting that a good many today know the causes for cancer. I believe many know what is causing some of the different kinds of cancer but because of money and power it's hidden. Seems like this was true of asbestos and tobacco. I have friends who are struggling with cancer which was most likely caused by these two. It seems like money and probably power and greed are causing the opioid epidemic today. I personally feel that much of the cancer we are experiencing today is because of the foods we eat and how they are grown.

In my opinion we are limited in what we can personally do. However there are a few things we can act on. I would personally like to see a "point of origin" bill passed so that regardless of where something comes from it has to say so on the label. Our leaders in Washington have refused to act on this point of origin labeling. If it comes from, say, Brazil, I want to know. If it is raised in the US, shipped to China to process it and then shipped back to the US to be sold I want to know. If it is raised in Missouri or California I'd like to know. We have the power to vote and to complain to our elected representatives.

Buy local but at the same time question where the foods we eat come from. For example if it's hamburger it might come from who knows where but be sold locally. Ask! During the summer there are a number of Farmer's Markets and roadside stands. Ask where the vegies come from. Ask how they were grown. Ask who grew them. Ask questions and if you get a feeling that something isn't right then I'd pass on it. Most if not all of us know when we are being fed a line of doo-doo.

Grow your own. One can virtually grow goodies with next to no space. See what you can do with the space that you have. If your neighbor has some extra yard space work out a deal with them. If you don't know how then ask around. Find a master gardener who will probably be more than willing to help you. Call your County Extension office.

Begin weaning you and your family off of processed foods and more onto home prepared foods. Most processed foods have to be processed and then made shelf stable until sold so they most likely will have a preservative in it. Read the label and if you can't pronounce it it's most likely not good for you. Check how much sugar and salt it has in it or even fats.

Beginning in May goodies from the garden will begin appearing in roadside stands and markets and on store shelves. How about making this summer the one where we begin eating our way to a more healthy life?