Critters and Cold Weather Plants

Some people object to Creation/organic gardening because they cannot imagine dealing with the critters, those biting, devouring, and spoiling insects that drive the pesticide industry.

I let them battle it out among themselves. Most insects are beneficial, so pesticides kill all the good ones that eat the bad ones. Spiders die in the aerosol genocide, so spraying is usually not a good idea.

Something has chewed on my new plants - probably grasshoppers. There are two solutions to this. One is to plant early, before insects are active. The other is to plant more and assume some seedlings will not survive the early growth state.

Roses are vulnerable to a lot of disorders and pests. They suffer from mildew and black spot, June bugs, mites, and other pests. I use an all-purpose rose spray on them.

People seldom think in terms of cold weather plants that love to get started or finish in the cold. The hardiest is kale, which is grown as an ornamental in Columbus, Ohio because it endures the winter. Kale can be dug up from under snow and be fresh and green. However, its texture is more like rubber than food. Mrs. Ichabod grinds it up in the processor - and loves it. 

Like most unpleasant foods, kale is full of nutrition. 

My favorite cold-weather plants are peas and spinach. Most gardeners wait far too long to plant them. Spinach should be planted, and covered a little later, in the fall. They will be at their best in the cold wet spring, which will destroy the appeal of the "freshest" spinach from the store.

Likewise, peas can be planted as soon as the soil allows. One fanatic drilled holes in the soil and dropped in the peas. Peas keep getting better. I have miles of fencing, so I will plant edible pod peas all along the fencing. They are cheap by the pound.

Many plant their vegetables as if they are soldiers standing at parade attention, one plant in line with another. I have never marked rows. Plants make their own mulch and shade in wide rows. Planted like tin soldiers, a lot of soil is exposed to sun-drying and wind erosion.

God mulches pine forests with pine needles, deciduous forests with leaves. Someone should eyeball Creation every so often. Creation loves mulch, because the mulch preserves, protects, and enriches the soil according to the plant grown.

Why would I haul away the leaves from the yard when those trees have mined minerals from the depth of their extensive root system? Instead, I rot them down into compost I can spread for mulch. Since the compost is filled with earthworms, their castings (manure), and their eggs, the material will improve any garden area.

I went outside with Sassy. Robins tend to fly away, but this morning one flew to my feet, picked up a bug, and flew away. No fear. Likewise, one almost flew away when seeing me, dropping its worm. But it had second thoughts and picked its worm up again. 

Birds quickly learn who provides food and water for them. I would provide seeds in the feeder, but I do not care to feed the starlings and squirrels exclusively. They leave nothing for the rest. This winter I will place suet (fat) around the yard for all the insect eating birds. But if raccoons feast on it, they will have to subsist on the natural food from Creation gardening. 

A regular water source will attract dogs, cats, birds, and other creatures. They remember where the dependable source is. Little White Mouse went right to my auto-fill bird-bath. 

I let the air conditioning condensate drip into an aluminum pan. The pan fills and drips into the ceramic dish with a big stone in it. Birds like shallow water and something to perch on. Dripping water is a sound easily noticed by creatures, so that is another benefit. My only labor is to dump the water and clean up the pans a bit.