An Ounce of Prevention is Worth…Killing All the Bugs?

I don’t know about you, but if I see one more Bayer ad for “TOTAL” tree and shrub or lawn care prevention, I think I’ll cry.

Why is it that preventative medicine for humans and animals has a completely different meaning than preventative care for the living things in our gardens?  With the exception of vaccines, which target specific diseases and infections, we humans take medicine to cure our ailments OR, if we are in tune to our health and our bodies, we do things in our daily life to prevent diseases and infection,  Things like eating healthy foods, exercising and taking supplements to enhance our immunity and improve the way our bodies handle the stress of daily life have been preached and practiced for 1000′s of years.

But…

For plants, preventative health care is preached by teaching people to treat their plants with toxic chemicals that kill (mostly) every possible disease and insect- even the good bugs like fireflies, ladybugs, lacewings and praying mantis…even bees and butterflies.  This can’t be good.  It would be like giving babies a 12 month dose of antibiotics “just in case” they catch something.  We won’t do that to ourselves because we KNOW bugs that infect us build tolerance to antibiotics.  Doctors are now (thank goodness) becoming very strict in prescribing antibiotics for that very reason.

Do you think these same rules of resistance are somehow not applicable to plants?  Any plant scientist will tell you diseases and insects that affect garden plants ARE becoming resistant, so why oh why would anyone spray their plants with something that treats things the plant may or may not ever get?

How about we apply the same rules of good health to caring for our gardens?

Let’s try giving the plants a happy home (good soil), feed them a well balanced diet (lots of compost and adequate water) and plant them in the right spot (somewhere they’ll thrive – not suffer).  Now see if you ever need to spray for anything…I’d be surprised.  I spray only when necessary.  My plants don’t get diseases or insects.  If they do, they overcome it because I’ve grown them strong.  Roses get black spot, so spray for black spot.  Don’t give them food laced with chemicals that treat all sorts of fungal diseases and insects.

Remember – we need the good bugs and if you read Doug Tallamy’s Book, Bringing Nature Home, you’ll get what I’m saying.  Seriously…

Healthy, well bred plants make better gardens, that’s why I work with breeders like Arie Blom of AB-Cultivars and Sinclair Adam of Dunvegan Nursery.  These guys know how to breed strong, sustainable plants that make for better gardens.  My favorite (this week…) from Arie is Echinacea ‘Hot Papaya’, especially since it has come into full bloom this week in Baltimore.  My favorite from Sinclair is Tiarella ‘Octoraro’ because it grows the hugest leaves (up to 6″) I have ever seen on a Tiarella.  Talk about happy, healthy plants!

OR…

Maybe I’m just a really good gardener…na!