Beneficial Bugs Archives - The Urban Farm

767: Bugs, Disease, Weather and Animals – A Seed Chat

A Seed Chat with Bill McDorman. – This is the August 2023 Seed Chat discussing the impact that climate change is having on our crops. With all the excitement in the world Bill proposes to get all the diversity you can into your yard, into your neighborhood, into your community. That means more different kinds of varieties of the favorite crops that you wanna grow and more different kinds of crops off the scale. The more genetic and crop diversity that we have in our communities the better.

697: Planting for the Bugs

A Garden Chat with Suzanne Bontempo. – Bugs play a vital role in the health of an ecosystem, and with a little strategic planting, we can invite the “good” ones to join us in our own growing spaces. Join us as we talk with Suzanne Bontempo about planning ahead for bugs, how to recognize the…

683: Pollinators & Wildflowers

A Seed Chat with Bill McDorman. – A diverse and integrated garden requires many different elements. Top on that list are pollinators and wildflowers. If you have a robust flower component to your cultivated gardens, so much of the extra workload is handled by these workhorses as they…

669: Christy Wilhelmi on Garden Variety – a Novel

There’s More to Gardening Than Merely Keeping Pests at Bay. – Christy Wilhelmi returns to tell us about her latest book, Garden Variety, a novel set in a community garden. She explains why she wrote the book and shares a little bit about the process, then she introduces us to the characters and even…

664: Growing Flowers to Love Your Veggies

A Garden Chat with Lisa Ziegler. – Every vegetable garden can benefit from having beautiful flowers in and around the area. Beautiful blooms can boost the aesthetics and add a wide pallet of colors. Some flowers can repel unwanted pests, and some flowers can bring in healthy pollinators. Some flowers are even…

657: Vicki Hird on Rebugging the Planet

Renewing Our Relationships with Bugs. – Wait…Don’t step on that bug! Vicki Hird introduces us to the fascinating world of bugs, showing us a whole new way to think about our insect and invertebrate friends. She invites us to look a little closer so we can begin to appreciate bugs not only for the many essential…

635: Rebugging Your Farm and Garden

A Farmer Friday interview with Vicki Hird: Vicki Hird reminds us that it is possible to have bugs without having a bug problem. In fact, when it comes to bugs, the more you have in your garden the better! Vicki provides information about the beneficial roles that bugs play and she tells how to…

610: Saving Seeds of Cucurbits

A seed chat with Bill McDorman: This is the May 2021 class discussing the main cucurbit species, crossbreeding squashes, and so much more on the main species of cucurbits and their differences that allow for ‘wild crosses’.

603: Spotting Beneficial Predators in Your Garden

Gardening tips, tricks, and advice in short, bite-size episodes – Marlene Simon from Flower Power Garden Hour podcast returns for an eye-opening chat on understanding all stages of the bug life cycle. Marlene tells us what signs to look for when certain eggs or insects appear in your…

Category: Beneficial Bugs