Creating a Healthy Ecosystem

When this spring arrived, our gardens were a much needed refuge from all the craziness. However, summer is about to bring some challenges of its own. It’s crazy humid out, which has been great news for the squash bugs, cucumber beetles, and gypsy moths. (They’re so big this year, they’ve started making headlines!) On top of that, the aphids have begun to explode in our veggie gardens. Yet, I’m as cool as a cucumber (or perhaps a cucumber beetle—they’ve got it pretty good right now!).

Why am I not worried? Simply put, heat and humidity are beautiful things! It’s all part of the cycles of nature, and the resulting pests have a role to play in our world. Right now isn’t the time to panic; it’s the time to understand how to help our backyard ecosystems stay as healthy as possible to weather challenges like pests and disease. Here’s what every gardener—especially beginners!—should know about creating a healthy ecosystem.

Intro to Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

I understand it seems like all these bugs are taking over this year. However, as tempting as it may be to reach for a pesticide as a first step, I urge you to reconsider! There are many things that can be done to reduce the insects or disease, well before applying a pesticide.  When a pest gets out of control, it’s a sign that something in the ecosystem is off-balance. When we spray chemicals to kill a specific pest (like the gypsy moth caterpillars that are currently feasting on the Maples and Oaks), we may unintentionally also kill other organisms, all of which serve a purpose for keeping the rest of the ecosystem’s balance in check.

This is why I’m passionate about Integrated Pest Management, also known as IPM. IPM is an approach to pest control that focuses on tweaking the ecosystem to support the checks and balances of nature. Some of the techniques we use as part of an IPM strategy include:

• Tweaking the environment to keep pests out, like putting chicken wire fencing around vegetable patches or wrapping a tree trunk to prevent rodent damage.
• Adjusting our cultivation practices to prevent excessive populations of weeds and pests, like ensuring we’re not under or over watering, leaving any standing water behind and weeding the gardens to remove unwanted plants that provide extra homes for pests.
• Using biological controls to naturally tilt the balance of pests and beneficial bugs back in our favour, such as releasing live ladybugs into the yard to take care of an aphid infestation. (In fact, you can pre-order live ladybugs now to do exactly this!)

While it might not be your favourite job ever, one of the simplest ways to practice IPM is to pick off pests by hand. A bucket of warm, soapy water and a pair of close-fitting rubber gloves is all you need to attack a cucumber beetle or squash bug infestation without threatening the other critters in your yard. Get your stuff ready, and start picking and flicking those bugs into the bucket!

A pesticide spray may well be part of your IPM strategy, but it is the very last step, when all else fails.  However, the IPM way is to ensure you use the right spray, and apply at the correct rates, to minimize the impact on the environment. No matter how bad your infestation is, I invite you to visit us at Royal City Nursery so we can talk through our recommendations. With the right knowledge, sometimes a pest issue is more manageable than you might think.

Understanding Plant Disease

Like a pest infestation, a disease outbreak is an indicator that something is a little off in the ecosystem. Outbreaks of fungal disease, like powdery mildew, tell us that moisture is not evaporating fast enough from an area. Issues like blights or tomato blossom end rot can indicate an issue with the technique or frequency of watering. Like slugs, pests can also spread disease from one plant to the next—as can improper pruning practices.

Fortunately, this is an area we love to help people with! We’re one of the very few garden centres in the Guelph area to offer diagnostic services for plant diseases. (And pest identification, too, for that matter!) If you’re struggling to identify an insect or a disease, take a sample of affected plant tissue and place it in a sandwich bag to bring to us. Rather than taking chances with treatments that may cause more harm than good, let us have a look first! We can help you zero in on the best, most environmentally-friendly way to manage the outbreak.

Healthy Soil, Healthy Garden

One of the under-appreciated cornerstones of a healthy ecosystem is healthy soil. To the untrained eye, all soil probably just looks like dirt. However, the more you learn about your soil, the more you’ll understand the earth beneath your feet is a living, breathing ecosystem of its own. 

So, what makes soil “healthy”? In short, lots of organic matter, a diverse array of plants, and plenty of tiny creatures to call the soil home. Each one is equally important.

• Organic matter feeds the plants and organisms, for a healthy, thriving ecosystem
• A variety of different plants help to knit the soil together with their roots, and they add further organic matter to the soil when they complete their life cycles.
• The creatures living in the soil, from microscopic organisms to chubby earthworms, all play a vital role in keeping the soil in peak condition for plant life and other living things above and below the ground.

The best part is that encouraging healthy soil is easy! There are simple things you can do to keep your soil in tip-top shape, like:

• Avoiding or limiting the use of synthetic fertilizers in garden beds and borders
• Adding compost or well-rotted manure to your garden beds at least once per year
• Using mulch to suppress weeds and retain moisture; these mulches also gradually break down and feed the soil
• Avoiding stepping on garden soil, especially when wet, which causes compaction
• Testing your soil regularly to monitor for imbalances in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (the three key soil nutrients).
• Avoiding the use of pesticides or herbicides outdoors unless necessary. 

How Native Plants Impact Your Landscape

Native plants are the unsung heroes of healthy landscapes because they serve so many positive purposes. A native plant is defined as a plant that grows in your region naturally. Ensuring you’ve got plenty of native species growing in your yard has benefits like:

• Lower water needs: Native plant roots tend to grow deeper and stronger than hybrids, which allows them to find groundwater other plants can’t access. Not only does this reduce the need for watering, but it also prevents your soil from washing away in the rain.
• Attracting pollinators: Native plants evolved with the local pollinators, so these vital critters recognize them as a trusted food source. 
• Providing shelter to wildlife: Nearby wildlife also recognize native species as a safe place to find nesting material, build cocoons, and even settle in for the winter.

Without native plants, a landscape simply can’t become an ecosystem. A garden rich in native plants requires very little maintenance and is much more capable of self-regulation than a garden planted exclusively with imported plants. 

Part of what keeps me passionate about gardening and landscaping is learning how richly intertwined all of these natural worlds really are. If this is your first year gardening, keep going, it only gets more fun from here! There’s so much to learn, and we’ll be right there with you as you grow.