Out in the Garden Rockport Garden Club, May 2021 What alternatives to harmful insecticides and The Garden Diary: pesticides are available to us? What’s Bugging Stop bugs BEFORE they become a problem: You? 1. Clean up weeds and standing water in your yard which host insects. Did you know there are 200,000,000 insects for every man, woman, and child on earth? Yes, 2. Keep your plants healthy. A healthy plant that is 200 million for each of us! Insects will has its own defenses against many predators. always outnumber us. That is the bad news. 3. Don’t over-fertilize. Too much fertilizer cre- ates weak growth which attracts insects. The good news is that most bugs are either bene- ficial or benign, having no noticeable impact on 4. Be sure plants receive adequate water. Too our lives. We rarely give the good bugs credit little water stresses plants and attracts in- for the work they do. Bees and butterflies polle- sects. nate our plants. Tiny parasitic wasps lay eggs on 5. If bugs are large enough to hand pick, squish larger in- sects and them or put them in a jar of soapy water. kill them 6. Use a garden hose to spray off other insects. in the pro- 7. Create an oasis for birds and butterflies cess. Pray- ing mantis- since birds and other bugs are the worst ene- es kill bee- mies of bad bugs. tles and spiders in Ultimately you may need to use a pesticide. Opt large num- for an organic product whenever possible. Fol- bers. La- low directions on the package carefully, meas- dybugs are voracious eaters of mealy bugs and ure carefully, protect yourself with rubber scale. Spiders dine on flies and other trouble- gloves and mask, launder clothes, and discard some insects. any unused product as instructed on their pack- aging. Now what about the bad insects in our world? We generally try to kill them. We swat flies. Here’s a helpful link: We use bug zappers on mosquitoes. We put flea collars on our pets. We use soapy water to rid New York Magazine: The Best (Nontoxic) Pesti- houseplants of insects. These are desirable ways cides and Insecticides, According to Gardeners to get rid of bad insects. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate Spraying or spreading insecticides over our to email us at: properties MAY BE a bad response to ridding [email protected] ourselves of unwanted bugs. Insecticides gener- ally kill the good insects along with the bad. They may harm other creatures on your proper- ty, including birds, pets, and family members. Happy debugging! Out in the Garden, page 2 Rockport Garden Club, May 2021 Letter to the Editor: banning harmful pesticides What about the toxicity of combinations of these Why say “No” to chemicals? synthetic pesticides? We will never know which combinations of herbi- cide, fungicide, and insecticide are causing damage to human or environmental health. It is mathe- Sarah Little, former Pesticide Awareness Coordi- matically impossible to study all the interactions nator for the Town of Wellesley, who worked with between the over 500 different active pesticide in- the MA DEP on pesticide use reduction, provided gredients legal in the U.S. in our lifetimes. Espe- us this article on the hazards of synthetic chemical cially if they cause cancer, which can take 20 years pesticides. to appear. Pesticides are broadly defined as anything used to What about the “inert” ingredients listed on the la- kill, repel or mitigate pests. Examples are insecti- bel, what are they? cides, herbicides, fungicides, and rodenticides. It is Most pesticide products have proprietary "inert" important to know that 1) pesticides are designed ingredients, which are neither inert nor non-toxic, to be poisonous, 2) their hazards are not fully but simply don’t act on the target organism (as known, and 3) there are healthier, cheaper and defined by law). These products include chemicals more effective ways to manage most pests. such as fillers, synergists, surfactants, and pre- What do know we about toxicity of these chemicals? servatives that are toxic to humans. These risks are unknowable to the consumer. We know some things, like how much of an active ingredient 100 rats can eat and only kill 50 of How can I learn more about toxicity of specific them; how many birth defects will occur in 100 chemicals? pregnant rats fed the amount of active ingredient For regulatory and toxicity information of individ- that the EPA expects will get into your food and ual chemicals or products: water; which aquatic organisms will be killed; and several other biological and chemical proxies. The Items marked with "PAN Bad Actor" are known EPA doesn't prohibit a pesticide based on these to be problematic. findings, they regulate the labeling of the pesticide, https://www.pesticideinfo.org/ give it a registration number, and allow it on the market. Anyone who isn't following the label will Links between specific chemicals and specific dis- be at higher-than-acceptable risk as far as the eases; a great resource. EPA is concerned, as well as being in violation of the law. How does one ultimately understand the risks in- If someone follows the label will they and the envi- volved? ronment be risk-free? The task of analyzing the risk of short and long No. The EPA does not test each product in hu- term toxicity and chemical interactions of each mans (thank goodness), but relies on years of use product in one’s garage is a difficult, if not impos- out in the public followed by epidemiological re- sible task. A simple "no thanks" to using pesti- search into poisonings, birth defects and environ- cides is an appealing alternative, especially when mental harm, before deciding to remove it from simple, organic, integrated pest management tech- the market. At this point they are fought by indus- niques offer a great way forward to a beautiful try, not surprisingly, who has invested tremendous garden, yard, and local environment. amounts of money in its manufacturing and distri- bution. It routinely takes 25-50 years to remove a Sarah Little is the author of “Introduction to Or- product that was found to have been harmful all ganic Lawns and Yards. along. This article on pesticide regulation in differ- ent countries gives a picture of the situation: Take care, The USA lags behind other agricultural nations in Sarah Out in the Garden, page 3 Rockport Garden Club, May 2021 The Garden Cart: Haas Halo Hydrangea As you might have guessed, we’re trying to steer you to- Planting in a Perfect Hole wards native plants. Here’s one that won the Pennsylvania Gold Medal and looks like a winner following the great This Monty Don presentation on Hydrangeas last month. trick is a winner and will change the way We all love the mophead you plant in pots and hydrangeas, but they are your garden. Place all show. The flowers are your new plant inside technically colored up your new pot while sepals. They don't pro- it’s still in its contain- duce reproductive struc- er. Add new soil and tures or pollen. They of- tamp it down lightly. fer little, if anything, to Remove the new pollinators. plant and you’ll see a perfect hole! Unpot Here in North America and pop it in. You there are at least four pol- may want to tease or linating hydrangeas to slice the roots a bit, choose from - the smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arbo- but try to keep the rescens), the ashy Hydrangea (Hydrangea cinerea), the new plant’s form oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), and the silver- consistent with the leaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea radiata). hole. Voilà. Haas Halo is a smooth hydrangea lacecap hydrangea that the White Flower Farm deems “remarkable.” It produces giant flowers over 14″ wide that are favorites of honey bees. It has sturdy stems, and is slow to wilt in hot, dry spells. Garden Calendar: Spent flowers provide winter interest. This one will be covered with bees and butterflies. Member Meeting Starting Early rd Monday, May 3 Attributes: 12:00: Mingle Height: 2-5 feet 12:30: Business Meeting! Spread: 3-5 feet Hardiness: 3-9 1:00: Speaker: Color: White Exposure: Morning Sun, Afternoon Shade Rebecca Warner Soil Moisture: Average Maintenance: Low “Thinking Globally, Acting in Your Ecoregion: Eastern US Own Backyard” Bloom: Jul-Sep ZOOM Meeting Link —Lisa Simms .