Companions

Every healthy, balanced ecosystem has companions and it starts with benificials. Companions can be pests or beneficial plants and organisms. In the redwood farm, we find weeds all the time. They are constantly popping up in our plant beds and can be really frustrating. Weeds steal nutrients from the soil that our plants could be using. By using Grow Biointensive methods such as close plant spacing eliminate the opportunity for weeds to begin growing. There's no room for them to squeeze in between the other plants, and not enough nutrients for them to survive. We can also plant companion plants with crops to help them grow and even taste better, like legumes with strawberries. It's important to encourage beneficials in your garden because it may lead to attracting pollinators. Planting flowering plants in your garden will draw in bees, birds and butterflies. Birds, while they may be seeking a seed lunch, may stick around for an Aphid dinner. They can act as a natural pesticide that doesn't harm your garden.

The best defense against pests is a balanced ecosystem. Pests lurking in your garden can range from aphids to a symphylan. Symphylans are a gardener's worst nightmare. They feed on sprouting seeds and roots, causing damage to a plants ability to acquire water and nutrients. An easy fix to all these pests are pesticides, but the truth is that less than 2% of the pesticide used actually reaches the targeted organisms. The other 98% effects the non-targeted crop. There are sustainable alternatives to pesticides like promoting diversity in your garden, and mimicking nature which make for stronger plant defense and companion support. While herbicides are still semi toxic to plants, they kill unwanted vegetation and leave the crop somewhat unharmed. —Hunter