Buddhist Gardening

General discussion, particularly exploring the Dharma in the modern world.
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Jeff H
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Buddhist Gardening

Post by Jeff H »

Anyone here do a lot of gardening at home? I’d like to be able discuss Buddhist applications in the garden.

Specifically, I have what was a very nice Sunstruck (False Sunflower, Heliopsis helian-thoides, I think) that has been overrun with red aphids. I posted on a garden forum, but the only remedy I got was to soap them to death. (Which, as the responder further explained according to her observation of the dead aphids, apparently causes the soap to dissolve their skin so they dry up.)

I’d like to save the plant without killing the aphids. I’ve thought of cutting the plant below where the aphids are (about ½” from the dirt) and hoping it rejuvenates itself next season. But then what do I do with the aphid-infested stems and leaves? I have an area in my backyard where I throw garden waste that I don’t want to put in the compost, but I don’t really want to leave the aphids back there to flourish either. If I put them in a bag, they’ll be able to finish their Sunstruck feast, but it’ll just be a slow and dark death.

The bigger issue is, gardens have pests but most gardeners value their plants over the sentient pests. What should a Buddhist do? Not garden?
:rolleye:
Where now is my mind engaged? - Shantideva
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Gardeners' choices are mixed karma, unfortunately. At the most basic level, gardeners favour some plants and animals over others, to the detriment of the others.
About the best you can do with pests is make your garden and plants less attractive to them. You will still have to kill some, or lose your plants, but not so many.
Here are some natural solutions which may help. Some of them harm the pests, some just make them screw up their little noses and go next door, but none of them poison the wider environment. (That's a separate issue but worth thinking about.)

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Moisture control is another tactic. A lot of the softer insects really like to stay quite damp, so avoiding over-watering can help.

:namaste:
Kim
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FiveSkandhas
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Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by FiveSkandhas »

You could always make a totally non-sentient garden and sidestep the whole issue:
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"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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明安 Myoan
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Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by 明安 Myoan »

If you're engaged in Buddhist practice while gardening, you're helping establish a connection to the Dharma for these sentient beings, who can then escape the Three Lower Realms. Especially mantras are well suited for this. Zopa Rinpoche recommends the mantras of Chenrezig, Medicine Buddha, and a few others that you can find on https://fpmt.org/education/benefiting-a ... nd-advice/

I think doing this gives your mind a more level foundation for deciding how to respond to each situation, too.

Also, you can bring home and release insects beneficial for your garden, like lady bugs and earthworms, as a form of animal liberation practice.
Namu Amida Butsu
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Ayu
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Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by Ayu »

Neem products seem to be a good alternative to killing bugs. They serve like contraceptives for bugs and the next generation is being impeded.

In general, it is good to find out supporting means for the complete environment: plants and animals, which support eachother for a healthy growth.
A good measure is always to observe, which plants grow where on their own effort.
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treehuggingoctopus
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Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by treehuggingoctopus »

Jeff H wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 5:30 pm Anyone here do a lot of gardening at home? I’d like to be able discuss Buddhist applications in the garden.

Specifically, I have what was a very nice Sunstruck (False Sunflower, Heliopsis helian-thoides, I think) that has been overrun with red aphids. I posted on a garden forum, but the only remedy I got was to soap them to death. (Which, as the responder further explained according to her observation of the dead aphids, apparently causes the soap to dissolve their skin so they dry up.)

I’d like to save the plant without killing the aphids. I’ve thought of cutting the plant below where the aphids are (about ½” from the dirt) and hoping it rejuvenates itself next season. But then what do I do with the aphid-infested stems and leaves? I have an area in my backyard where I throw garden waste that I don’t want to put in the compost, but I don’t really want to leave the aphids back there to flourish either. If I put them in a bag, they’ll be able to finish their Sunstruck feast, but it’ll just be a slow and dark death.

The bigger issue is, gardens have pests but most gardeners value their plants over the sentient pests. What should a Buddhist do? Not garden?
:rolleye:
I am an avid, but 100% amateurish, gardener. Gardens save lives, mine clearly included.

There are plant species which are native, easy to get, zero-maintanence -- and which aphids find way tastier. You might want to get them (then again, no guarantee. It may work perfectly, or it may be a total flop). Try also planting plants which attract ladybugs, or anything else which preys on aphids (ethically unsound, probably. But less so than soaping them to their death).

If the plant is doing OKish in spite of the infestation, you may let them be. If the plant is visibly weakened, then probably neem oil is what you need (they advise mixing it with soap. I do not do that, but add more oil to the water. Still works).

Neem oil is a miracle, by and large.
Générosité de l’invisible.
Notre gratitude est infinie.
Le critère est l’hospitalité.

Edmond Jabès
Giovanni
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Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by Giovanni »

With all the best will in the world all we can do in Samsara is cause the least harm that we can. We cannot choose to do no harm. We can always raise Bodhicitta.
Jeff H
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Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by Jeff H »

Thanks everyone. I'm finding all these comments very helpful (although I admit I'm not likely to plow the whole thing under and go zen just yet :smile: ). These are balanced perspectives on integrating Dharma.
Where now is my mind engaged? - Shantideva
jimmi
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Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by jimmi »

Here is a link to some good information on attracting and supporting a diverse population of predator and parasitic insects to control aphids. Basically, you need to develop an ecosystem in your garden to provide the needs of the insects you wish to attract. Some of the insect species you might want can even be purchased though creating the suitable ecosystem is preferable in the long run.

https://pestcontroloptions.com/natural- ... ts-aphids/
Jeff H
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Location: Vermont, USA

Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by Jeff H »

jimmi wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 6:27 pm Here is a link to some good information on attracting and supporting a diverse population of predator and parasitic insects to control aphids. Basically, you need to develop an ecosystem in your garden to provide the needs of the insects you wish to attract. Some of the insect species you might want can even be purchased though creating the suitable ecosystem is preferable in the long run.

https://pestcontroloptions.com/natural- ... ts-aphids/
Thanks Jimmi. This looks interesting.
Where now is my mind engaged? - Shantideva
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Queequeg
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Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by Queequeg »

My approach is to plant and see what survives without my interventions. I take what thrives and rearrange them into the design I want.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Buddhist Gardening

Post by Kim O'Hara »

jimmi wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 6:27 pm Here is a link to some good information on attracting and supporting a diverse population of predator and parasitic insects to control aphids. Basically, you need to develop an ecosystem in your garden to provide the needs of the insects you wish to attract. Some of the insect species you might want can even be purchased though creating the suitable ecosystem is preferable in the long run.

https://pestcontroloptions.com/natural- ... ts-aphids/
:thumbsup:
Looks good.

It's specific to some un-named location which may or may not be the OP's location but is certainly not mine. We have some of the same insects and plants, but not all. The general principles are sound, though - encourage a balanced ecosystem and you won't have too many pests to deal with. In general, you want to encourage carnivores (spiders, wasps, birds) because they eat the herbivores (aphids, caterpillars) that eat your plants.
In particular, avoid general spraying of insecticides as much as possible since they will kill your beneficial insects (and maybe even birds) as much as your pests.
My area has paper wasps - quite small but with a painful sting they can use repeatedly - and many people here spray the nests on sight. I leave them alone (but remember where the nests are!) because they feed their larvae on caterpillars, and that's useful. Birds eat them (the wasps) too, and then hang around to snack on aphids. Small jumping spiders roam all over the plants, too, and feed on pests. It gets complicated but it all works out okay in the end.

:namaste:
Kim
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