Rosemary & Beans

 

Don’t let the title or the image fool you. Today’s post is not a recipe. If you plant beans in your garden, there’s a bug that could present problems to your crop, tiny bean patch or not. Even though this pest is related to the ladybug, this ain’t your friendly type ‘dressed in red, strolling through the flowerbed.’

This Mexican Bean Beetle can take a bite out of your bean crop. One might keep an eye open for this distinctive bronze colored beetle. You don’t have to be a commercial farmer to be concerned with what might be ailing any of your crops. Planting beans in your garden this year and not familiar with this pest? Read more here but come back to finish up. http://extension.umass.edu/vegetable/insects/mexican-bean-beetle Though this UMass Amherst link may be a bit more technical and made for the commercial farmer crews, knowing how to identify and understand the life cycle of any pest is a testament to being a good gardener. While reputable garden practices can control some of these nasty pests, when something infects your plants, you must treat the problem, like it or not. If you want to try a benign way to deter this nasty beetle, it is said to plant Rosemary around your bean patch. I love planting Rosemary so what the heck, it’s worth the try. Rosemary is a staple of the summer garden so place it wisely. Your plantings should always be strategic so why not plant it near your bean patch? As you can see from the above image, this container of Rosemary may be relocating soon. Although conveniently located near the kitchen slider to clip and snip for cooking, it's time to pack your soil, Rosemary. Bean patch here we come.

As pointed out in many of the Annie blog posts, it is recommended to clean your garden at the end of the harvest season. You should also till the soil before your spring plantings to unearth any overwinter guests. And plant beans less susceptible to this pest. Bush beans versus pole beans. Research what you plant. 

Remember, your garden standards should always be exemplary, not ho-hum. With that Thursday thought, let’s wrap it up with a J.R.R. Tolkien quote. “Shortcuts make long delays.” And when summer comes, we want beans we can eat.

Image of Rosemary by Ann Bilowz © 

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