Treat the Plant, Not the Pest!
Sheri Maines
Homeopathy TODAY • Spring 2020
Nothing is more exciting for a gardener than to see the rewards of their labor bring forth food to nourish them and their family; yet nothing is more disappointing than all their work succumbing to pests, diseases, or environmental catastrophes.
The spring of 2014 found me on our 60-plus acre organic farm, happily ordering seeds, installing the PVC watering system, and planning my newly expanded 4,000-plus-square-foot garden down to the last square foot. But in June my hopes were dashed as seemingly overnight, grasshoppers had descended upon my blossoming garden, devouring everything in sight. One particular plant, a Costata Romanesco zucchini, had just flowered, but by the next day the grasshoppers had eaten everything on the plant, leaving only a short stem.
Lack of rainfall had afflicted Texas for several years, but summer 2014 was particularly brutal. Drought or dry conditions are perfect for the egg pods of locusts and grasshoppers to explode, and gardeners, farmers, and ranchers have battled these plagues for ages. Swarms have been known to devour entire fields in a short amount of time. That summer, I was bombarded by grasshoppers every time I went outside....