Cannabis Chronicles

There are many differing viewpoints concerning pests and gardening. The 3LB’s viewpoint is not unique, however it is just a little unusual in a couple of aspects. When dealing with garden disease, it seems best to approach the problem much as would a physician, and the basic paradigm of healing is simple - “First Do No Harm”. With that in mind, the basics fall into place, the concept behind all pest control is to use the least toxic method possible in protecting our plants. Everything else beyond that is really just getting down to details, and prevention really is the key.

According to the groundbreaking work of Dr Phillip Callahan, unhealthy plants literally invite nature’s garbage disposal team. The frontline of that team are the insects that you and I consider to be pests. According to Callahan’s research, they are actually nature’s way of removing sick, diseased, and unhealthy plants. In Callahan’s book on this subject, Tuning Into Nature, he details how insect antennae actually are like radio and radar antennae, except those little insect pests are receiving a much much shorter wavelength.

Dr Callahan’s work indicates that plants which are not nutritionally balanced are literally reflecting a different spectrum of radio-magnetic energy from the sun, when compared to completely healthy plants. In effect, this serves as a beacon to call in what we consider pests, but in nature what are the insects serving the critical role of culling the sick and diseased.

With that said, even the most diligent and attentive gardener will upon occasion find themselves faced with a pest problem, sooner or later every garden seems to attract some pests, and a healing herb garden is no different than any other garden in that respect. As with anything else, prevention is the best cure, but sooner or later, you’ll have to take matter into your own hands. In essence, you are the garden’s landlord, and it’s up to you to give pests their eviction notice, prevention is the preferred cure.

In all honesty, most pests are a sign of nutritional or cultural problems, so using the landlord analogy, one of the best ways to remove pests is to make some “home improvements”. If your plants are healthy and nutritionally balanced, they are less attractive to pests, who actually are playing the role of nature’s garbage disposal. It’s said that “cleanliness is next to godliness”, so the garbage disposal analogy is quite apt here too, keep your grow area clean and free of diseased or rotting plant matter.

If no matter your best efforts you do end up with a pest outbreak on your hands, it’s our outlook that the pest control to use is the least toxic method possible. In this upcoming series of postings and journal entries, we’ll be detailing some of the various tools and techniques used by biological and organic gardeners to control garden pests.