[CSA Update] Welcome to week 9

Starting a field or starting a garden, and everything in-between, is a shared decision people face regardless of location, climate, or economic resources? Pests!

I am not talking about the person that harvests all the blueberries and returns to the kitchen with an empty bucket and a purple tongue.
I think of weeds, ants, beetles, caterpillars, goats, cats, and us pesky humans.

My staff had a bouquet of stems in the kitchen until my wife took a closer look. They had caterpillars on them - and they weren't monarch butterflies!

I apply integrated pest management practices (IPM).

I through that term out there frequently as a differentiator between my practices and the next farmer. IPM is a treatment program that practices sustainability, practicality, and environmentally safe pest control methods. It focuses on a step-oriented model to effectively manage pests.

It starts when you learn about the local pests. This has to be repeated every year - our world is connected by storms and freeways and bring new developments frequently. After identifying what they are, I determine what they eat in their preferred habitat. Their reproduction behavior and life cycles help me understand when there will be a surge and absence. I also try to identify their natural enemies. I love those ladybugs.

I then move into prevention. For a garden, you can look for locations to minimize pest impact. When I am looking for acres, I utilize crop rotation and increase the variety planted in areas like poly cropping. The timing and water and nutrition management help the plants be more resilient in case the pests arrive.

Observation may be the easiest way to understand IPM. When a solution's directions say to apply every three days, no need to spray if there aren't pests present. Crop monitoring, keeping records of what pest species are present when they are present, and eating are part of my field records.

When I need to step in, it's because I see the pests. In a small plot like a home garden, you can physically pull the pests, weeds, cut the plants, etc. I can do some of that however, biological controls like pest predators usually leave less damage and allow the plants to grow through the invasion. Application of chemical controls are generally plant-based and are applied at the level that is safe and documented. I also maintain licenses to do this.

I am continually evaluating and planning by reviewing records and adapting each year.

IPM means environmentally safer actions. Lower cost is usually why a farm starts an IPM program; however, it fosters self-reliance and capability while also utilizing pest control tactics that are friendlier to the environment.