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 o Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

Posted by Miss_Mudcat SE Indiana z5 (My Page) on Mon, Sep 26, 05 at 8:24

I was just reading the thread "Should I mulch in Fall?" and I have to ask what about all those pesky cucumber beetles that overwinter there so snug? I HATE those cursed creatures!


Follow-Up Postings:

 o RE: Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

Applying a mulch in the fall may be too late too help if the adults have already burrowed down into ground litter. According to ATTRA, a more timely applied heavy mulch may discourage adults cucumber beetles from laying eggs in the soil. If not in your soil at the base of your cucumber plants, the adults will overwinter in ground litter up to a mile away. I haven't been bothered by them yet, but if I were, I would follow the recommended advice about row covers and crop rotation.

I know there are those here that scoff at crop rotation in a home garden and will cite some 300 foot rule, but it makes sense to me to not have hungry insects emerge from the ground already underneath the protective row covers rather than outside them.

Here is a link that might be useful: ATTRA Cucumber beetle page


 o RE: Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

Attracting birds to your yard (for instance with a strategically placed birdbath) can help keep things balanced. Mulch is one of the things that brings in the birds. They forage in the mulch for insects, including the beetles. A natural control that's good for wildlife and your plants.
-O


 o RE: Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

Good point Organica,

Mulch does seem to be a bird magnet in my garden, even if I've yet to see a single bird at the bird bath. (Perhaps they prefer the cooler water in the creek?)

The ultimate bird control for insects is to let chickens range through the garden.


 o RE: Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

Mulch is an ideal habitat for slugs. And also ground beetles, the prime slug-slayer. The ground beetles are winning. Regards, Peter.


 o RE: Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

Mulch: Battleground of Bugs!


 o RE: Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

Many people making the switch from their attempt to make a sterile world find that for a time, until they get their soil into a good, healthy state there is an increase in the number of pests they need to contend with. But over time those numbers dimish as the plants that are grown become more healthy and less attractive to the pests and the predators start to thrive in a safer environment. So while mulches may provide shelter for the pests those same mulches also provide shelter for the predators that will control those pests, and that mulch will eventually help your soil become a good, healthy place for plants to grow and the plants themselves will be less desirable to the pests.
There is nothing but benefit to mulching your soil in the fall.


 o RE: Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

Ah, here is how you deal with mulch and bugs. You move your portable chicken pen (also called a portable dog run) into your garden area where squash/cucumbers, etc, grew during the summer. Then you throw in all the bags of leaves you collected out on the curb from neighbors cleaning their lawns, making a nice layer at least a foot thick, inside the chicken coop (dog house) and all around the run. Then you just let your backyard chickens scuffle around in the leaves and the dirt under them all fall and winter long. In the very late winter/early spring, you move the chicken pen out of the garden area, till in the mulch/chicken litter, add a little more mulch until you are really ready to plant, and then put tomatoes there.

I've been puting my chickens in my garden for the winter off and on for about 7 years, and they do a great job of digging up insects and insect eggs, as well as fertilizing the ground for heavy feeding crops. I only keep 2 or 3 chickens, so the soil under their 8x10 foot run gets fertilized, not polluted, in the 4-6 months the cage stays in one spot.

Catherine


 o RE: Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

  • Posted by: Byron 4a/5b NH (My Page) on Fri, Sep 30, 05 at 18:05

I have read many reports that mulch/np till garden can increase insect populations

An IPM method is to fall till to disturb insects that over winter in garden soil

A different look

Byron


 o RE: Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

Chickens are a good control of overwintering insects if you have the opportunity or inclination to raise them. Most people won't or can't, often because of ignorant people on zoning boards, or worse, the neo-dictators people subject thenselves to when the subjugate their rights to the nitwits that dominate most homeowners associations.

Occasionally, some people will have problems with insects that may overwinter. Often the simple solution is to rotate crops within the garden. (If all goes on schedule, someone will now chime in to say that rotation is useless in a home garden unless you can move crops an arbitrary 300 feet.) I will rotate crops between beds each year and, especially if I'm using a row cover, those insects will not emerge at the base of the plants they love. It makes little sense to plant the same crop in the same place and then apply row coverings to try to exclude insects already established in the soil underneath them.

Some people complain about an increase of slugs in heavily mulched gardens. I've noticed this myself and just take steps to deal with the slug population.

My main "problem" with a permanent much is that I have to remove it from planting beds in the early spring to allow the soil to warm (I'm on the cold side of zone 4.)

As with any gardening technique, each gardener needs to weigh the benefits of mulch vs any possible negative effects. Mulch contributes to the fertility of the soil by providing a steady supply of food for the micro-organisms and worms. It shades the soil, lowering the temperature to conserve moisture and reduce the need to water. It blankets the soil making it difficult for most weeds to emerge and compete with your plants. It often helps to keep fruits and vegetables clean for harvesting. Lastly, I like how tidy it makes the beds look.

These are enough benefits for me. I'll deal with any insect problems that arise. The alternative is to weed more, water more and fertilize more often.


 o RE: Doesn't Mulch Offer Protection for Pests?

There is a proposal out there that would effectively prohibit all you backyard chicken ranchers form having those chickens. Check out this lionk and take whatever action you deem appropriate.

Here is a link that might be useful: Proposal to ban backyard chicken ranches


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