Organic garden maintenance is probably my favorite class to teach and my very favorite part of that topic is “Good Bugs and Bad Bugs”. So many people don’t realize that there are beneficial bugs, especially in the garden. They know about bees and butterflies of course but when you show them a photo of lady bug larva, it’s hard for them to believe that’s a good bug. It’s always lots of fun and I like to show a photo and let the group decide if it’s a good or bad bug.

I strongly encourage the most organic method of bad bug control, squishing them and their eggs or hand picking them off plants and putting them in a jug of soapy water. But as we all know sometimes other methods are needed to get the job done. Therefore, my members learned about alternative/organic insecticides this week. I spoke with them about using Spinosad, BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), Sluggo (used to get rid of snail and slugs, both of which seems to be really bad already this year) and Diatomaceous Earth. I have a feeling it’s going to be a bit of a task to get them to throw away their Sevin dust but I think we can do it.

My Program Assistant Garry, our in-house bee genus, spoke with the group about keeping pollinators safe with using organic pesticides. He recommended spraying late in the evening when most bees have returned to the hive.  He also talked to the members about care, and storage of the gardening hoes they would be receiving after the meeting.

Members braved a thunderstorm and hail to get to the meeting and I think it was worth the effort. My assistant and I along with volunteers, handed out 1/2 bushel baskets containing organic pesticides, plant trellising, twine, corn seeds, 1 gallon sprayer, and a reusable planting calendar. Along with their baskets they received a gardening hoe, 2 t-posts to help hold their trellising, and loads of summer plants. Their flat included red and yellow tomatoes, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, locally called Tommy Toes, bell peppers, hot and sweet banana peppers, cucumbers, water melon, cantaloupe, and jalapeno peppers.  It was a great night to be a coordinator!

So many families in Leslie County benefit from Grow Appalachia. These are such good people and they all love helping other families in need. They often talking about sharing what they grow in their gardens with others. More often than not, they will give their extra produce away rather than sell it at the farmers market. I’m proud to be a part of this wonderful community and thrilled I can bring Grow Appalachia into their homes.