Buddhism and Gardening

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Kelsang_Tering
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Buddhism and Gardening

Post by Kelsang_Tering »

As a keen armature gardener, I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to get rid of pests on plants, such as Green/Black fly and Vine Weevils and there larvae without harming or killing them.

I have been told there is a chemical that will destroy the Vine Weevils larvae before they develop in to full Vine Weevils and eat and destroy the plants and the same for the Green/Black Fly.

But as a lay Buddhist I have taken a vow of no killing; and I garden organically to help the balance of the environment. So using chemicals to eradicate the Vine Weevils, Green/Black Fly is unacceptable.

So if anyone has got any advice that would or could help me garden ethically and without having to use chemicals which would cause harm or even kill any insects or pests would be really appreciated for any advice or help that you could Offer :buddha1:

Om Mani Ped Me Hum
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Buddhism and Gardening

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

get voles. voles will eat weevils.
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Buddhism and Gardening

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Kelsang_Tering wrote:As a keen armature gardener, I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to get rid of pests on plants, such as Green/Black fly and Vine Weevils and there larvae without harming or killing them.

I have been told there is a chemical that will destroy the Vine Weevils larvae before they develop in to full Vine Weevils and eat and destroy the plants and the same for the Green/Black Fly.

But as a lay Buddhist I have taken a vow of no killing; and I garden organically to help the balance of the environment. So using chemicals to eradicate the Vine Weevils, Green/Black Fly is unacceptable.

So if anyone has got any advice that would or could help me garden ethically and without having to use chemicals which would cause harm or even kill any insects or pests would be really appreciated for any advice or help that you could Offer :buddha1:

Om Mani Ped Me Hum
There are two different kinds of answers here, and you can use both at once:
(1) The Buddha was realistic about the lay life and what has to happen for us to produce enough food to live. He did not totally forbid killing all creatures, and he did permit even the killing of "advanced" animal life like cattle for food - and people by soldiers under orders. I tend to sum up his approach as saying that we shouldn't unnecessarily kill or cause harm.

(2) The healthier and more complete the biosphere is within your garden, the less trouble you will have with pests. Ladybirds are predators of sap-sucking insects, as are some spiders and many small birds. Some wasps are predators of caterpillars, etc. The details of the food web depend very much on where you are but the general principle is valid: encourage all sorts of diversity.
That's all we do. We hardly ever use insecticides in our garden and there are always a few pests but never enough to be a problem.

:namaste:
Kim
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LastLegend
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Re: Buddhism and Gardening

Post by LastLegend »

Why should gardening more valuable than the insects you are trying to get rid of? Just saying. But coming from what I have been taught, give them a portion of the garden to feed on and set limit on the rest. How do you do that? I guess recite mantras, Buddha, Bodhisattva and ask them to consume only the portion that is given to them.
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Jesse
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Re: Buddhism and Gardening

Post by Jesse »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_repellent_plants

There are also soap based repellents that can be used, generally they come with plant extracts that repel bugs. I have used them successfully before, particularly cedar oil.

http://www.ehow.com/info_8301879_cedar- ... llent.html
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Seishin
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Re: Buddhism and Gardening

Post by Seishin »

Fine netting can reduce the amount, but not eradicate. If you want to be ethical and not kill then you'll have to learn to live with a certain level of destruction on your garden due to pests. I once had an entire plot of cabbages destroyed by caterpillers. So to avoid other plants suffering I moved the entire plants away from other crops meaning the caterpillers still had lunch and I still had a garden! :tongue:

Scattering broken egg shells around the base of the plants can help reduce the amount of slugs and snails.

It can be devastating when your hard work is eaten before you get a chance, last year we only had a handful of strawberrys. Everything else was destroyed by either bugs or weather :(

Gassho,
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mandala
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Re: Buddhism and Gardening

Post by mandala »

In organic gardening, the hose is my best friend. Alot of sucking pests and larvae can be removed with a good old blast from the hose.

I also have some sacrificial plants that i let the bugs destroy, to deter them from eating other plants. Companion planting can help to some degree - you can use strong smelling herbs like scented geranium, basil or lavender to 'confuse' the bugs, other plants like tansy and wormwood are said to be repellents or growing dill & fennel will attract beneficial bugs to your garden to take care of the pests for you.

Another thing i do is interplant my garden with herbs and veggies - not plant in straight rows of singular produce. It seems to stop whole blocks of plants being attacked.

If the pests do get out of control, I sometimes use Neem oil (diluted with warm water & castille liquid soap) - the benefit of neem oil is that it's non-toxic to beneficial insects, it only affects insects that suck or bite the plants. It's non toxic to humans either, people eat neem leaves for various health reasons.
The thing is though, it stops the pests breeding cycle and it DOES eventually kill them.
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Ayu
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Re: Buddhism and Gardening

Post by Ayu »

Gardening is my profession. I have no really good solution. Exept pondering the advantage and the disadvantage of a certain sanction.
Organic gardening and observing everything in order to be quick enough.
It is better to kill 20 lice in the beginning than 2000 afterwards...
I can not consider certain lice as more important than certain old plants. For me, plants are also sentient beings.
So, what i do depends on the situation and what is important and what is not so important.
NIRMAL2
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Re: Buddhism and Gardening

Post by NIRMAL2 »

Pest Control Plants

SunflowerOne of the great things about gardening is that in some ways your garden can take care of itself. Now I'm not endorsing abandoning your garden chores completely, but there are a few things that you can do to make your work a little easier. One of these things is to select plants for your garden that will help control insect pests.

Certain plants contain properties that either invite beneficial insects or repel harmful insects. Beneficial insects prey on pests that cause damage in the garden. Ladybugs and praying mantis are good examples of beneficial bugs.

Using plants for pest control not only cuts down on your workload, but it also reduces the amount of insecticides that you use in your garden. And fewer insecticides means more good bugs, which in turn means help in controlling bad bugs.

Remember that what works in my garden may not work in yours. Every garden is different with its own microclimate, soil type, and pest control issues. It is important that you experiment to find out what works best for your situation. With this thought in mind, it also helps to choose plants that are native to your area. This way beneficial insects will already know what to look for.

Artemisia - This plant produces a strong antiseptic, although not unpleasant aroma that repels most insects. Planted in drifts it can also deter small animals. My favorite variety is 'Powis Castle'. I prefer to use this plant in flower borders and not in my vegetable garden because it produces a botanical poison.

Basil -The oils in basil are said to repel thrips, flies and mosquitoes. I plant basil along side my tomatoes for larger, tastier tomatoes. However, basil and rue should not be planted together.

Bee Balm - I love this plant because it attracts bees to my garden. It is another plant that you can grow with your tomatoes.

Borage - This plant is a real workhorse in the garden. It repels tomato hornworms and cabbage worms and attracts beneficial bees and wasps. Borage also adds trace elements to the soil. This is an annual, but readily comes back each year from seed.

Catnip - I think that this plant repels just about everything, except for cats of course! Use it to keep away flea beetles, aphids, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, ants, and weevils. I use sachets of dried catnip to deter the annual parade of ants that invade my kitchen. My favorite variety of catnip is 'Six Hills Giant' because of its proliferation of sky blue blooms.

Chives - Chives are one of my favorite herbs. Not only do I love the flavor but their grassy foliage and round flower heads also add so much interest to my garden. You can plant chives to repel Japanese beetles and carrot rust flies. It has also been said that chives will help prevent scab when planted among apple trees.http://www.pallensmith.com/articles/pest-control-plants
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Buddhism and Gardening

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Lots of good suggestions here - great! - but they would be more useful if we had some idea of the climate and circumstances they are useful in. For instance, I just don't have slugs or snails because I'm in the dry tropics, so the eggshell trick is not necessary. Neem oil? Never heard of it. Etc.

TIA,
Kim
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