32. TRY A FLOWER HIGHWAY TO CONTROL INSECT PESTS

We all know that pesticides are poison and that we must limit their use in our gardens and farms. But how to control plant pests? One option is to plant flowers! According to the business magazine Fast Company, some organic farmers are growing flowers that attract good bugs that, in turn, eat bad bugs. This is why farmers plant wide strips of flowers within the rows of their crops and around the perimeter of farmland. The flowers they plant are particularly favored by insects that devour destructive pests. These long “flower highways” travel close to the crops so the good bugs can easily find the bad insects to eat.

They reported, “In one study in Switzerland, researchers planted poppies, cilantro, dill, and other flowers along fields of winter wheat. The plants fed and sheltered insects like ladybugs that ate the bugs that eat wheat, and ultimately reduced leaf damage by 61 percent.” Growing the right mix of flowers can increase yield and is economically smart.

Wildflower habitats are also being planted around edges of golf courses to attract good insects such as native bees. In general, native bees will only sting if antagonized, so they do not pose a threat to golfers. The most effective edge plantings, they found, are ones with the highest “floral richness.” These wildflower strips increased biological control rates in adjacent turfgrass areas by up to 50 percent, according to the study “Floral abundance and richness drive beneficial arthropod conservation and biological control on golf course” in the journal Urban Ecosystems. In other words, flowers are the best attractors for good bugs. Try this for yourself with a mix of perennial, native wildflowers that bloom from April to October: coneflowers, columbines, black-eyed Susans, clover, hyssop, and goldenrod.

Planting flowers as a pest-control measure is an important step in our evolving natural gardening practices. For example, ladybugs eat destructive pests like aphids, mites, and scale. So plant flowers that ladybugs like, such as angelica, calendula, chamomile, chives, cilantro, cosmos, dill, fennel, feverfew, goldenrod, signet marigold, and yarrow. If you plant it, they will come. Include a flower highway in your garden.