The Rev. Dana Prom Smith, S.T.D.,
Ph.D. (12/3/2014)
As a young
soldier, really an adolescent, near the end of World War II, I was trained in
counter-intelligence, covert operations, and close combat. Part of the training involved surveillance, a
vigilance for espionage and sabotage.
Such training has been invaluable in gardening.
I can still hear
my captain. "The quiet ones, the ones to whom no one pays mind, the ones
that slip by unnoticed, they'll bear watching." Aphids don't call attention to themselves,
slipping by unnoticed. They bear
watching. Sucking the life out of a
plant, they're found on the underside of the leaves, not on top where they can
be easily seen.
He
also talked about tics, twitches, furrowed brows, and squints, the small signs
of stress. In gardening it's a leaf's
curl, a slight discoloration, and a stem's canker. Signs of a far deeper and far more devastating
threat are eyes turned glassy and pupils narrowed or leaves dropped, stems
withered, and plants suckled dry by parasites.
Surveillance is one of the
gardener's first responsibilities, every morning and evening patrolling the
garden with eyes peeled, looking for the quiet ones. On these patrols through the garden, it's best
to poke underneath the leaves while sniffing out lurking culprits. Check litter, such as small piles of leaves
or pieces of wood. Scatter them, bend
over to peek underneath, and then dispose of them. A principle task for a gardener is to
snoop. Enjoying a garden isn't
enough. Inspecting it is crucial because
only an inspected garden will thrive to be enjoyed.
At
the first hint of sabotage, don't hope the problem will take care of
itself. It won't. It'll get worse which means that the gardener
on patrol must come prepared, as in well-armed with a spray gun and a hose
equipped with a nozzle. Never allow the
enemy an avenue of escape. Ne pas faire de quartier.
Two sets of eyes
are better than one so, if possible, take along another snoop while on patrol.
Never use
ammunition that afflicts the garden, such as friendly fire poisons. Human beings are singular amongst animals in
that they foul their own nests, such as spraying poison on their gardens and
food. At the first sign of under-sided
sabotage, turn the nozzle down to a sharp stream and wash the insects into
oblivion. If they appear again, spray
them with insecticidal soap, offing the under-sided saboteurs without poisoning
the garden. If they appear again, off'em
again until they are no more. Sans merci.
Saboteurs use
surprise, striking from secluded and secret lairs, so it's important to find
their hidden cells and destroy them.
Grasshoppers lay their eggs underground in the fall so that they can
strike by surprise in the spring, suddenly flying out of the sun, like dive
bombers in a blitzkrieg, devouring a garden.
Turning the soil
with a spade helps expose the nests of eggs to the air, destroying them. But spading is not enough. Nests of eggs will always be missed. Happily, grasshopper nymphs have a thing for
wheat bran, and if the wheat bran is mixed with NoLo, their voracious appetite
will be their undoing. Always encounter
enemies at their weaknesses. The
grasshopper's vice is gluttony.
NoLo
is short for Nosema locustae spores which are fatal to
grasshoppers but harmful to no one else.
NoLo can be purchased in the armaments section at local nurseries or
over the internet.
Finally,
in the fight against sabotage, allies, such as, green lacewings, lady bugs, and
praying mantises are always useful. More
eyes and mouths will find and devour more saboteurs. These allies can be bought, but as with all
bought friends, they're fickle and tend to fly away. So release them at dusk so after a night's
rest they can ravage at first light.
They can be kept in a garden with the hospitality of such plants as dill
and yarrow.
The
captain, a classics scholar in civilian life, often quoted Demosthenes warning
the Athenians of Macedonian perfidy, "There's one safeguard known
generally to the wise. What is it? Distrust." Vigilance is one safeguard known to wise
gardeners keeping their gardens safe from saboteurs.
Copyright
© Dana Prom Smith 2014
Dana Prom Smith and Freddi Steele edit Gardening Etcetera for the Arizona
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