Baresoaps

For our local friends, we will be at Duke Farms Market this weekend and plan to have soaps on sale as we gear up for the holidays 🙂

One thing that most people don’t realize about pests is that they exist for a purpose. Their purpose is to be the prey (food) of their predators. In the gardening / farming world, these are also known as beneficial insects. Some people even buy ladybugs 🐞 to release into greenhouses to take care of pests like aphids.

When we get rid of pests by spraying, organic or chemical, we are taking away an important food source for these beneficial insects. Unfortunately, it typically takes a couple of cycles where these pests need to multiply to the point of an “infestation” before the predators show up. But if you give nature time, she will take care of it. The challenge is that farmers need to make money and not only is time not on their side, every non usable stem (or crop) is a loss in $$. But if you’re a home gardener, you can afford to wait!

For me, one of the things I’m doing on the flower farm is “interplanting”. Instead of planting rows and rows of the same plant, I am using diversity to encourage symbiotic relationships and attract a diversity of insects. It makes harvesting less efficient but I think it helps contribute to a richer ecosystem.

Photo 1: Did you know that some moths aren’t just pollinators but they are carnivorous and eat aphids?!

Photo 2: Here I’ve intercropped zinnias next to dill, beans and peas. Dill flowers make for great “filler”. That’s the yellow flowers you see!

Our “why” centers around creating a better tomorrow for our children, in the realization that the sustainability challenges we face today will be compounded and passed on.

If you’re following this account, we likely have at least that in common.

But I started thinking… what’s the point if our children may die from guns before they even get a chance to grow up to struggle in this climate change challenged world?

I am not a far right progressive. There are candidates on both sides I support.

I believe that the right to bear arms is not mutually exclusive with passing tougher laws on assault weapons, mandating stricter background checks, or raising the age requirement to buy such weapons.

If you disagree, I implore you to ask yourself - do you disagree for the sake of disagreeing? Or do you firmly believe that stricter measures on assault weapons jeopardizes your 2nd constitutional right?

If you agree with me, please make your vote count especially if you live in a state with a Republican Congress member. Urge then to at least start the conversation on the floor versus nope-saucing everything. Because the only thing that beats monetary contribution for a candidate is losing YOUR VOTE 🗳.

🖌