Strawberries and Pests–June 6, 2013
The weather was cloudy and a warm 70° according to second grader, Aidric. After picking and eating lots of strawberries outside of the garden we:
- thinned more radishes
- weeded around the carrot, bean and potato plants
- put potato beetles, scale bugs and egg cases in soapy water
Anna explained that it takes more time to look for and get rid of pests and that’s one reason why organic food costs more. The time involved to remove harmful insects is worth it though because we can eat any of the vegetables without pesticides.
She also described the symbiotic relationship between ants and aphids. When aphids suck (like vampires) nutrients from leaves, they produce a kind of honeydew that ants love to eat off their backs. The ants in turn protect the aphids from predators and parasites.
