Bugs in an Organic Garden

Mickey and I are trying to be as organic as possible in our garden.  We want to stay away from chemical pesticides and fertilizers.  We are, so far, keeping up with the weeding and watering. 

I went to the garden after our seminar on Saturday to check things out.   I noticed that our potato plants had quite a few bugs on them, so I started knocking them off and trying to squash them.  The ground was soft, though, so I really was just kind of pushing them into the mud; I wasn’t sure if they were dying. 

The common "Tater" Bug. THese evil little creatures can strip a potato patch in no time!

My next thought was to pick them off by hand.  It’s not hard to pick them off because they don’t have a good grip on the plant.  Really, it’s as easy as giving the plant a little flick; the bugs fall right off.  However, if I don’t get the bugs out of the garden, they’ll get right back on the plants!

I found an empty soda can in my car.  I picked (or flicked) the bugs off the plants and put them in the can.  Easy-peasy.  Then, for good measure, I put water in the can to drown them. 

I got in the car, stuffed a paper towel into the opening and went to meet friends for a little lunch.  After about an hour, I got back in the car and there WERE BUGS ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!!!  Those little monsters didn’t drown.  They didn’t suffocate.  They managed to pull the paper towel down into the can and use it as a launching pad to the outside world!

OH!

My!

Goodness!

Ack! Bugs in my car! *shudder*

Bugs all over my car!

Plan B – go to the car wash and vacuum them out. 

Three days later, I’m still finding the occasional bug. 

Plan C: find a new way to dispose of tater bugs.