Dear Abbie - Is it too late to attract good bugs?

Dear Abbie, I’ve been reading about the amazing benefits of attracting beneficial insects like Ladybugs, Lacewings, Hover flies and parasitoid wasps! I did not know about attacting them to my garden when I started this spring. Is it too late to attract them now? Should I buy some beneficial insects?

Dear Gardener, I am so happy that you are interested in beneficial insects! You probably already have them in your garden in small amounts. Grab a cup of coffee and go study your garden! Some, like Ladybugs and Hover flies, will be easy to spot while others will go unseen, but you might see their handiwork, like wasp eggs in a Tomato Horn Worm! Relax and enjoy your garden knowing you have lots of tiny helpers!

To increase your good bugs I highly recommend focusing on naturally increasing native populations. I do not recommend buying them. Practices to use include allowing some pests to live in your garden (provides food for the good bugs and gives them a reason to stay!), reduce or eliminate the use of all pesticides (Including organic pesticides), leave plants standing over winter, and plant diversely.

Plants you can add right now (Mid-July) from seed or transplants:

• Dill

• Borage

• Sweet alyssum

• Buckwheat

• Cilantro

• Calendula

Plants you can add this fall for next season include a range of perennials. If they are established in early fall from healthy transplants they will overwinter and give bugs a great habitat all year long.

• Yarrow

• Echinacea

• Perennial Coreopsis

• Creeping Thyme

• Caraway (sow as seeds in fall, grows as a biennial next spring that readily self sows)

There are many other plants too and I encourage you to see what works best in your area! If possible dedicate parts of your yard or garden to insect focused areas and allow the plants to self-seed, spread and remain year round.

Happy Gardening!

Abbie, The Heirloom Farmer

Yarrow in bloom