Natural Pest Control Workshop - 10 June (Monday) 2013

Michele Heights Community Garden (located behind Tim Hortons near the Coliseum on Carling) is sponsoring a Natural Pest Control Workshop

Monday, June 10th, 6:30 pm
Michele Heights Community Centre
2955 Michele Drive (MAP)

Please see the attached for more details.
Contact micheleheightscommunitygardens@gmail.com if you have questions.

Please spread the word. Thanks.

Companion Planting

This is a section that appeared in Ritchie Garden News - April Newsletter 2013 

Companion Planting

With the terms "going green" and "organic" on everyone's mind these days, some might be interested in trying companion planting in the garden. The idea behind companion planting is planting varieties of plants together that would benefit from being positioned within close proximity of each other. A couple of phrases used in regards to companion planting are "nursery plants" and "trap crops". Nursery plants would include herbs, which are attractive to beneficial insects by providing shelter and food. Beneficial insects include pollinating insects and predator insects which are both beneficial to the other surrounding plants. Trap crops refer to plants that deter unwanted insects away from desired plants. Flowers, leaves, and roots of some plant material contain substances that create an odour and/or taste that naturally repels unwanted insects. Another belief about companion planting is the improved flavour and growth that may occur when certain varieties of edible plants are planted adjacent to one another.


Suggestions for compatible companion plantings in the garden are:

Alliums can confuse and deter slugs, aphids, carrot flies, and cabbage worm. They are ideal to plant near carrots and cabbage.


Flax is a multi-tasking plant. It repels potato bugs as well as improving the taste and growth of carrots and potatoes.


Mints enhance the growth and flavouring of cabbage and tomatoes while discouraging white cabbage moths.


Rue is not recommended for planting near cabbage, basil, or sage but it is an excellent beetle repellant for roses and raspberries.


Nasturtium is a great edible annual and it attracts predatory insects while repelling and distracting cabbage lopers, squash bugs, white flies, and cucumber beetles.


Petunia is another pest deterrent annual that repels and distracts leafhoppers, Japanese beetles, aphids, and asparagus beetles.


Marigolds are a tried and true pest deterrent. People have been using this annual for years to repel beetles, nematodes, and other garden pests. 

Ritchie Feed & Seed
1390 Windmill Lane, Ottawa, ON, K1B 4V5
613-741-4430 www.ritchiefeed.com

Got Potato Beetles? Read this!

Here is some advice on how to combat Colorado Potato Beetles from one of our gardeners

We seem to have a plague of Colorado Potato Beetles this year. If we let them get going, they are going to be very difficult to get under control They are voracious and if you don't keep a good handle on them, they can eat a potato patch right down to the ground in a few days. (I saw them do this to Lee Coates' garden one year). They are also very fond of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers etc.

Over the years, I have come across a few hints for dealing with them. There are several stages at which they can be controlled with a bit of luck and work. The adults are those large yellow and black beetles. The larvae start out as small black things and as they grow older and larger, they become orange and more shaped like the beetle (but soft). The eggs are laid on the underside of the leaves in small clusters, and are bright gold and pointed, shaped a bit like miniature rice grains. The entire cluster is usually about 2 cm or so across. 

1. Wear a rubber gloves if you are in the least bit squeamish and carry a can half full of soapy water. Pick or knock the insects into the can. I haven't tried it, but you can likely spray the small black stage with soapy water. There are often too many of these to pick. You can also just squish them between two fingers. 
2. Examine the underside of the leaves for the egg clusters. These can be crushed between your fingers. 
3. I've found Diatomaceous Earth to be fairly effective to control what you miss by hand picking. It consists of finely ground fossilized sea shells. It isn't harmful to animals or humans (but like any powder, you don't want to breath in a whole bunch of it). I buy it in bulk at Arbor Environmental on Bank Street. I put mine in a squirt bottle and sort of puff it onto the plant. Don't forget to do the underside of the leaves. It needs to be reapplied after a rain storm. It doesn't hurt the plant, but it will also kill pollinating insects. Diatomaceous Earth is sometimes called 'Fossil Flower' and can be an ingredient in other insecticides. It is a mechanical control. The sharp edges of the ground shells pierce the insect and cause it to lose its body fluids and die. Sort of 'death by a thousand cuts'. Diatomaceous Earth is also fairly effective for the striped cucumber beetle. Dust the undersides of the leaves and the stem where it comes out of the soil to prevent the beetles from following the stem down and laying their eggs on the roots of your squash, melon, pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini etc. 

Hope that this information helps hold them at bay until we can get to the workshops. 

Jayne Huntley