Companion Gardening - North Central Ohio

Companion Gardening By Susan Helterbran

Champaign-Shelby County’s - Program Coordinator for the

North Central Ohio Solid Waste District Serving Allen, Champaign, Hardin, Madison, Shelby & Union Counties

Household Hazardous Waste • Household Paints 67%

• Passenger Tires 31%

• Auto Products-Oil/Antifreeze 31%

• Home Maintenance Products 20%

• Household Cleaning Supplies 20%

• Garden Products-Pesiticides/Fertilizers 18%

• Dry Cell/Household Batteries 17%

• LAB-Lead Acid Batteries 14%

Why I Started Learning About Companion Gardening?

Goal – Find ways residents can reduce the use of Pesticides and Fertilizers

Answer – Companion Gardening Uses Natural Pest Control and Soil Building

1935 – Everett & Faith Brelsford

History of Pesticides

• The first recorded use of insecticides was in 2500 B.C. by Sumarians, who used sulphur compounds to control insects and mites.

• Controlling body lice in China with mercury and arsenical compounds in 1200 B.C.

• Burning sulfur to kill insects in ancient Rome.

• Controlling ants with honey and arsenic in 1600.

History of Pesticides • It was not until after WWII that pesticide

popularity soared with the discovery of the effects of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane), BHC, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, and 2,4-D.

• These products were effective and inexpensive with DDT being the most popular.

History of Pesticides

• DDT was easy to use and it reduced insect-born diseases, like malaria, yellow fever, and typhus.

• In the 1950’s and 1960’s, widespread resistance to DDT and other pesticides was documented.

• In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, was released.

• In 1970, President Nixon formed the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and DDT was banned.

Future of Pesticides

• If pesticides were banned in the U.S., it is estimated that 132,000 people would lose jobs, U.S. food aid programs to poor countries would slow, and worldwide hunger would increase.

• A ban could hurt the environment in that farmers would need more farmland, thus in turn would ruin habitats.

• Other countries with less strict or fewer regulations may increase pesticide usage to take advantage of the reduction of U.S. exports.

• Banning pesticides would endanger public health, because pesticides have helped control diseases.

The Problem With Using Pesticides in Our Gardens

• Pesticides Don’t Just Kill the Bad Bugs, They also Kill the Good Bugs.

• More than 90% of Insects in Your Yard are Your Friends, Not Your Foes.

• Ladybugs, lacewings, many kinds of flies and tiny wasps are an important natural pest control force.

• Their larvae gobble up aphids and other pests or parasitize (the caterpillars that chew holes in the foliage of your flowers and vegetables).

So How Can We Keep the Good Bugs and Get Rid of the True Garden Pest?

Re-Think The Way We Garden

Nature Doesn’t Put Everything In Nice Neat Rows

The Three Sisters In The Garden Corn Bean Squash

Using Flowers As Pesticides • Some of the best flowers to start with

are Alliums, Delphiniums, Geraniums, Lavender, Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Petunias, Sunflowers and Yarrow.

• Planting these flowers in your or near your garden will attract the good insects, because the adult beneficial insects eat pollen, not bugs.

• Buying a few packets of annual seeds and potted perennials is much more fun than buying pesticides and a sprayer.

ALLIUMS REPELS

• Slugs • Aphids

• Carrot Fly • Cabbage Worm

• Rabbits

COMPANION WITH • Tomatoes • Peppers • Potatoes • Broccoli • Carrots

• Fruit Trees

DELPHNIUMS REPELS

• Japanese Beetles

Do • Pick Japanese Beetles off by hand and remove them from your garden.

• Set Japanese Beetle traps with bait in

your garden. • This will attract them

to your garden.

Don’t

GERANIUMS REPELS

• Japanese Beetles

• Leaf Hoppers • Cabbage Worm

• Rose Chafer

COMPANION WITH • Tomatoes • Peppers

• Corn • Broccoli • Cabbage

• Cauliflower • Grapes • Roses

LAVENDER REPELS • Ticks

• Maybe Mice

MARIGOLDS REPELS

• Asparagus Beetle

• Eel Worm • Mexican Bean

Beetle • Nematodes

• Tomato Hornworm

• White Fly • Maybe Rabbits

& Squirrels

COMPANION WITH • Asparagus • Tomatoes • Potatoes • Broccoli

• Cucumbers • Squash

• Cabbage • Strawberries • Apple Trees

• Mix With Soil To Prevent Soil Borne

Diseases

OTHER

NASTURTIUMS REPELS • Aphids

• Bean Beetle • Cabbage Moth

• Eelworm • Squash Bugs

• Pumpkin Beetle • White Fly

COMPANION WITH • Celery

• Tomatoes • Potatoes • Broccoli

• Cucumbers • Beans

• Cabbage • Strawberries

• Melons • Apple Trees

• Great for attracting Predatory Insects

OTHER

PETUNIAS REPELS • Aphids

• Leaf Hopper • Mexican Bean

Beetle • Rose Chafer • Squash Bugs

• Tomato Worm • Asparagus Beetle

COMPANION WITH • BEST with Tomatoes

• Also Peppers, Pumpkins, Cucumbers & Asparagus

SUNFLOWERS COMPANION WITH

• Corn • Tomatoes

• Cucumbers

• Attracts Aphids away from other plants.

OTHER

YARROW ATTRACTS • Predatory Wasp

• Lady Bugs • Hover Flies

• Damsel Bugs

• Improves Soil Quality. OTHER COMPANION WITH

• Many Plants

BORAGE & SAGE

ATTRACTS • Honey Bees

TANSY WARNING

• Tansy is TOXIC to Livestock

• Ants, Aphids, Borers, Cabbage Moth, Cucumber Beetles, Cutworms, Flies, Japanese

Beetles & Squash Bugs

REPELS COMPANION WITH • Pumpkins, Squash,

Beans, Corn, Raspberries & Roses

There are many more flowers and herbs that can be used to deter

pest as well as Natural Predators.

• Birds • Toads • Frogs

• Snakes • Pets

Attracting Natural Predators Preditor Birds

• Nuthatches, woodpeckers & chicakdees clean up larvae & eggs of gypsy moth and other insects pest of trees.

• Many other birds devour weed seeds like finches, juncos and sparrows.

• Barn swallows, purple martins, titmouse, wrens & cardinals, are all insect eating birds.

• Owls are effective hunters of mice and rats.

• A bat (not a bird-but it can fly) will eat up 1,200 mosquitoes in an hour.

Attracting Birds • Consider their needs -

Food, Shelter & Water • Allow flowers such as

sunflowers, goldenrod, thistles or daises to go to seed.

• Provide a dusting spot for birds (20 inches of bare sandy soil) for birds to clean their feathers and get rid of parasites

• Put up nesting boxes or create a brush pile to provide a hiding spots.

• Provide a source of fresh water by adding a bird bath or shallow fountain to your garden.

Attracting Natural Predators Frogs, Toads & Snakes

• Amphibians and reptiles are mostly carnivorous, preying on rodents, insects and slugs.

• Garter snakes are one of the majors predators of slugs.

• One toad can eat well over 1,000 earwigs in a summer.

OK How? • Amphibians require moisture- add

a low water source without steep edges.

• Create a toad abode with rocks in a cool, shady spot in your garden.

• Reptiles like warm sunny environments with lots of places to hide.

• Provide a rock pile or logs around your water source for them to hide and bask in the sun.

Why?

Pest In Your House Most information first suggest that you keep your house

clean and remove/clean what is attracting them…. HOW DO I HAVE TIME TO KEEP MY HOUSE CLEAN WHEN

I’D RATHER BE WORKING IN MY GARDEN? Here are some suggested natural pest deterents

• Cedar - Deter many pest • Eucalyptus - Spiders, Fleas, Moths and Flies

• Cinnamon - Ants & Moths • Cucumber Peels - Ants

• Bay Leaves - Flies & Ladybugs • Cloves - Moths & Flies

• Lavender - Moths & Ticks • Citrus – Fleas

Here Is My Disclaimer?

What I told you about today will require

A Few More Sore Muscle A Little Bit More Sweat

And More Time Outside In Your Garden

Instead of Weed Killer…. Try This Old Fashion Tool

Benefits of Companion Gardening

• Use of Flowers and Other Plants in Your Garden to Fight Pest, instead of Pesticides

• Spending Your $$$$ on Beautiful, Healthy Garden instead of Pesticides.

• Safer Garden for Your Kids or Grandkids and Pets.

• Fresh, Pesticides Free Produce. • Spending More Time in Your Garden.

A Few Good Books

Thank You

Susan Helterbran, Program Coordinator Champaign-Shelby County Office of the North Central Ohio Solid Waste District

www.ncowaste.org