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Little Livestock
We
have made reference over the years about how we depend on certain insects to
combat the other insects that prey on our plants. Let’s take a closer look at
some of the insectivores we raise at Elmwood Stock Farm, along with the
herbivores, omnivores, fruits, and veggies. We grow flowering plants in strips
amongst the vegetables, and elsewhere around the farm, to provide food and
housing for these guys to encourage them to proliferate and rear their young.
We also purchase some of these from Entomology Solutions in Louisville. (You
may want to consider seeding your own yard).
Everybody’s favorite, and most well-known,
is the Convergent Lady Beetle, aka Ladybug. Adults may consume as many as 5000
aphids in a one year lifespan, the females laying 1500 eggs as well. Ladybugs
are unique in that the adult and the larvae are predacious, meaning they chew
up and eat the entire aphid. The larvae look like little alligators and have a
voracious appetite as they are growing so fast. They do tend to fly away as
soon as all the aphids are gone, so periodic restocking may be necessary, but
hey, they are working a wider area reducing aphids everywhere.
Aphidoletes aphidimyza sounds like it is an
aphid rather than an insect that preys on aphids. The adults look like a
mosquito and they are very good at locating aphid populations (that gets into
the fascinating realm of pheromones). The legless larvae can eat 50 aphids per
day. Actually they bite the aphid, inject a toxin, and then suck all the fluid
out. The life cycle is about 2-3 weeks, depending on temperature and other
climatic factors, and we may see 3-6 generations per year.
Lacewings are dainty little-winged insects
that as adults lay awesome eggs. Each tiny egg is perched atop a hair-like
structure about half an inch tall. They are scattered around the plant leaf or
even sometimes on fruit (we see them most on peppers and tomatoes). The larvae
that hatch walk down the hair and begin eating any soft-bodied insect they
encounter. For this reason, the eggs hatch at differing rates to prevent
cannibalism. The adults require pollen and nectar from flowering plants, which
is why we plant some nearby to provide a desired habitat for these beneficials.
Buckwheat flowers over a long period of time, and that sappy stuff on sunflower
stems is actually great nectar.
Trichogramma wasps are so small, they lay
their eggs in the eggs of other insects without harming them. However, when the
larvae hatch inside the host egg, they eat the contents before emerging and
flying away. It selects caterpillar type species as these have a long egg
cycle, and if the caterpillars hatch, they can devastate a crop. These wasps
are tricky to manage as they need the host eggs to be present, but if there are
too many host eggs, these little wasps cannot parasitize all the eggs in a
timely manner. We monitor this threshold and release them at the most opportune
time. Scouting the fields, looking at the populations of the good and bad bugs
and deciding where that threshold is, is part of what makes farming such a cool
profession.
Many of the pest insects have one stage
of their life below ground and we have some help down there as well. Beneficial
nematodes are teeny tiny worms that eat some 250 species of insect eggs,
larvae, pupae, or adults. They are very effective against grubs that later will
become Japanese Beetles. They can survive long periods with no host at all, and
reproduce quickly when another food source becomes available. We have
inoculated the fields with these over the years with great success.
Non-organic farmers are trained to use
some toxic chemical if the pest threshold is exceeded, eliminating all of the
insects in the field, bad and good alike. Certified organic farmers have a few
botanical compounds that can be used on the herbivorous insects that have no
effect on the insectivores. We are only allowed to use these sprays when all
other means have failed and we document such use in our records for our annual
organic certification inspection.
There are lots of other beneficial insects
out there and we try very hard to harbor them and give them safe haven. By
releasing fresh generations, we are augmenting our host population and establishing
a new equilibrium with the pest population with a much lower threshold of pest
pressure. Frankly, we do not have outbreaks with some pests these days that
were devastating a few short years ago. So you may consider adding flowering
and nectar generating plants in your landscape, and who knows, maybe one of our
Convergent Ladybugs may take up residence in your yard.
In Your Share
Sweet Corn
Kale Greens
Sweet Pepper
Potatoes
Yellow Squash
Tomatoes
Beets
Garlic
Baby Leeks
Okra
Recipes
Kale and Potato Curry
3 T
grapeseed or vegetable oil
2
medium yellow onions, diced
4 large
garlic cloves, minced
Thumb-sized
piece of ginger, peeled & minced
1
jalapeño chile, thinly sliced (with seeds)
3 T
sweet curry powder
1 tsp
tumeric
½ tsp
ground cinnamon
½ tsp
cayenne pepper
1 large
bunch kale, chopped
1 large
tomato, diced
1 C
water
1 ½ lb
(about 4 medium) potatoes
1 can
coconut milk
1 T
salt or to taste
2 tsp
dried basil or 2 T fresh slivered basil
¼ C
fresh oregano leaves
Rice or
other grain for serving
In a
medium Dutch oven or stockpot, heat oil over medium flame until shimmering. Add
onions, reduce heat to medium-low, and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic, ginger and jalapeño; sauté until fragrant, about 1 – 2 minutes. Add
curry powder, turmeric, cinnamon and cayenne pepper: stirring constantly, cook
for 1 minute. Add kale in two batches, stirring and sautéing until kale is
wilted. Add tomato and water, stir and reduce heat to low while you prepare the
potatoes. Peel and dice potatoes. Add potatoes, coconut milk, salt, and dried
basil (if using fresh basil, add at the end with the oregano) to the pot. Stir
well and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and
simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20-30 minutes3. Uncover and simmer over
low heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, 10 – 20 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in oregano and serve hot over rice.
Tex-Mex Summer Squash
Casserole
2 ¼ summer squash, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
crosswise (about 10 C)
2/3 C finely chopped yellow onion
1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles
1 4 ½ -ounce can chopped jalapeños, about ½ C, drained
½ tsp salt, or to taste
2 ¼ C grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, (about 7 ounces), divided
¼ C all-purpose flour
¾ C mild salsa
Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with
cooking spray. Sauté onion in a small
amount of olive oil until translucent. Combine squash, onion, chiles,
jalapeños, salt and ¾ C cheese in a large bowl. Sprinkle with flour; toss to
coat. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish and cover with foil. Bake
the casserole until it is bubbling and the squash is tender, 35 to 45 minutes.
Spoon salsa over the casserole and sprinkle with the remaining 1 ½ C cheese.
Bake, uncovered, until golden and heated through, 20 to 30 minutes. Options: (1) Add a can of black beans for a vegetarian
main dish; add sausage or chicken for a non-vegetarian main. (2) Omit jalapeños and increase green chiles
to two cans to reduce heat level.
Kale, Apple and Pancetta Salad
1/3
C extra virgin olive oil
4
oz sliced pancetta, diced
¼
C Champagne vinegar
¼
C pure maple syrup
¼
tsp salt
¼
tsp freshly ground black pepper
1
bunch kale, stems discarded, leaves shredded
2
tart yet sweet apples, sliced into thick matchsticks
¾
C pecans, toasted if desired
