Chill Out About the Bugs, But Don't Ignore Them Completely
Tip No. 4 for Developing a Green Thumb
I don’t believe anyone is born with a green thumb, but there are some things “green thumb people” do that other people do not. In this series, I’m sharing the Top 10 things I’ve learned to do that have developed my green thumb.
Green Thumb Tip No. 4: Chill Out About the Bugs, But Don't Ignore Them Completely
You don’t need to become an entomologist to have a successful garden.
You mostly just have to NOTICE pests and find out what to do or not to do before they wreak havoc.
A random weird little guy is often harmless.
But when you notice clusters of bugs or eggs on leaves, or spiky stems where there used to be flourishing leaves, it tends to be worth investigating.
Look closely, and you’ll sometimes catch the little cabbage worm in the act of stripping your arugula leaves.
Trust your instincts and Google anything you’re not sure about. Sometimes all you have to do is turn your hose to “jet” and show ‘em who is boss.
Or clip the leaf they are clustered on off the plant, drop it on the ground, and stomp to bits.
Tomato hornworms can be hand-picked off (ick) and dropped in soapy water, though I like to use them to make friends with birds by offering them an easy meal. And I usually just clip the whole branch off so I don’t have to touch them, ha!
My first encounter with hornworms was when I noticed some funky grenade shapes droppings on my tomato plants one year, didn’t bother to investigate, and awoke the next morning to find almost ALL 😯 of the leaves of my plant had been eaten.
Truly, this tip harkens back to my first post in the series that was about Finding a Daily Rhythm. You have to notice the bugs, or you won’t be able to do anything.
Resist the urge to grab some product to spray all over your plants. It’s very often not necessary, nor even the most effective way to get the result you’re after. Indiscriminate sprays almost always have the unintended consequence of hurting beneficial bugs in your garden—insects which when allowed to thrive will keep the the true pests under control.
Remember, predators come in after prey. If you want ladybugs, you’ll first need to chill out about aphids.
I’m not going to lie, contending with pests is not one of my favorite parts of gardening, but with each passing year they intimidate me less as I learn the quick fixes and the best ways to manage things organically.
I learn what pest pressure I can be a little lazy about, and what needs immediate attention.
And when I’m stuck, I send my actual entomologist friend @bilbo_bugginz a snapshot with caption “HELP!” 😉
Read the other articles in this series:
No. 2 » Value the Full Lifecycle of Your Plants
No. 3 » Plant Flowers WITH Your Vegetables
I share more tips like this to help you become a gardener in my zine “The Uncomplicated Gardener” available from Good Printed Things!
Just today I picked a big juicy hornworm off my tomato plant. 🤢🐛