In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

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July 9, 2007

Readers' thoughts on insects and Bermuda grass

In response to the July 5 posting about fruit worms, Morris “Farmer Morris” Branson emailed his observations about pests in the garden:

"The best protection for any kind of pests is healthy plants and soil. I have not used any insecticide, in my garden, for the past 9 years. Over that time I have noticed that beneficial insects, such as wasps, will naturally come around. Stressed plants will attract the other pests. Not that I have never spotted a tomato horn worm and cut it in half, but even they can be beneficial by reducing the foliage and letting sun in to help the tomatoes ripen. I surmise that nature has a way of winning out over our attempts to control it."

And reader Vivian Johnson called to offer this suggestion for thwarting Bermuda grass and bindweed: She doesn’t plant in the open ground, but instead uses recycled tubs she can move around, control the type of soil. She has an assortment of vegetables growing in tubs, and no Bermuda grass in sight. She grows tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers. She lets her chickens range free, and they take care of any insects like earwigs. And she’s even defeated Bermuda grass. “Geese love Bermuda grass,” she says, “and will eat in down to nothing. It can’t survive.”

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