Ecoculture Village's Useful Gardens

Changing the way gardening is perceived… away from useless lawns and non-native ornamentals… toward the functionality of gardening for food, medicine, and utility.

Pests

What Is Gardening Without Pests?

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What do we want from our gardens? That’s easy… healthy plants!

Unlike other animals, insects do not generally eat healthy plants… they simply lack the enzymes necessary to digest the complex sugars, carbohydrates and proteins healthy plants turn simple sugars, minerals and whatever other base stuff into. It is the same for fungi… the mildews, molds… and the viruses that are carried by plant eating insects that sometimes plague our plants… they cannot digest, and are not attracted to, healthy plants. This is so important a concept to understand because when you realize that a garden is only as healthy as its soil, you begin to think differently about the role you play in your garden.

Dealing With Slugs In The Garden

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Slugs are a constant annoyance to many gardens, but they are especially threatening during springtime… when your plants are at their most vulnerable… when they are seedlings. Most of the slugs in your garden will be underneath the soil surface at any given time. Some species will eat seedlings before the seedlings emerge from the soil, and some will even eat seeds… so begin dealing with slugs before you plan to have your seedlings emerge.

Poison Manufacturers Use Greenwash Techniques To Fool Slug Frustrated Gardeners

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In remaining Earthfriendly… and just plain smart… avoid any commercial product manufactured for the purpose of being ingested by slugs. Don’t believe any of that crap about their product only being toxic to a certain species of slug or whatever. All products intended to kill anything are toxic to the ecosystem and other animals including humans, even though they are advertised as being otherwise.

The Ecological Gardening Method… About Soil, Not Food

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When most people think ‘vegetable gardens’ they immediately think ‘food’… but in order for an organic garden to be about food, it first needs to be about soil. Understand that organic vegetable gardening is really ‘soil building’ and you will have the healthiest plants possible. The food your garden produces is only as good as the soil it grows from. Compost is your friend; use it always, whenever you replace a “weed” plant with a more useful species, and whenever you see a spot unoccupied by a plant.