Pest control in a no till garden
No till gardening is a system of gardening where the soil is mulched to prevent soil erosion, conserve water and reduce the pressure of weeds. Mulch on our garden provides a habitat to predator insects that help fight populations of pest insects in our gardens.
Our garden is part of a large ecosystem made up of organisms that interact with each other in a system of checks and balances.
Predator insects feed on prey insects. If the predators are removed from the food chain either through pesticide use or lack of habitat, the prey insects build up in numbers that begin to cause issues in our gardens. Aphids are a great example of this. Aphids are an important part of the ladybug life cycle. They are consumed for food by three stages of the ladybug. Without aphids, the ladybugs would not be prevalent in our garden.
Spraying pesticides is not targeted to one type of insect. Pesticides will kill all insects in a given area which then reduces an important part of the garden ecosystem. If we spray off aphids, we will off the ladybugs as well so it's important to consider the consequences of using broad spectrum sprays.
The challenge for gardeners comes in that we must provide a habitat for the predator insects to exist. Most predator insects live in the leaf litter of forest floors so if we provide similar habitat in our gardens, they will naturally move into the space. Mulch provides a great habitat for predator insects!
When we move to gardening in a no till system, we begin to work within the ecosystem that exisits around our garden. This in term means we may have to deal with seeing some aphids in our garden however know that you are now providing a food source as well as habitat for the predator insects that will keep aphid infestations in check and prevent them from doing grave damage to our garden.