Compost

Discussion Questions

What is the honeybee's job?

What is a bad bug?

Where does the worm live?

Every insect has its hole in an ecosystem, however, in farming there are bugs that are beneficial (or good for plants) and those that damage plants. Read about each bug and decide if its a good bug or a bad bug.

LADYBUGS

EARTHWORMS

Ladybugs eat aphids that are well known for destroying plant leave.

Worms eat decaying plant material and turn it into worm casings that make the minerals in the soil easier for plants to absorb with their roots

GRASS HOPPERS

HONEY BEES

Grass hoppers eat plants extremely fast. In fact thousands of grasshoppers will travel togher and wipe out whole fields of crops

Who doesn't love honey bees? Honey bees are key in pollenating plants so that they can make their fruits then the bees use the pollen to make honey.

APHIDS

WASPS (YELLOW JACKETS)

Aphids eat plants leaves and can be damaging very quickly

Wasps do not make honey. They can damage buildings with their nests. Can be very aggressive. And their bites are very painful.

SPIDERS

CATERPILLARS

There are many kinds of spiders and some can be very poisonous to humans, however, in a garden spiders eat a lot of pests that are damaging to plants.

There are many different species of caterpillars and even though they can make beautiful butterflies and moths, they will eat the leaves completely off a plant.

"BAD" Bugs

"GOOD" Bugs

GETTING RID OF "BAD" BUGS

There are many different ways to deal with "Bad" bugs, some include poisons that not everyone is comfortable using. But in case they are used on your homestead, wash all your fruits and vegetables before you eat them.

CHICKENS

Chickens eat all sorts of bugs. Eating bugs is good for them and good for your garden but careful. Because they like eating seedlings too!

LADYBUGS

Ladybugs can actually be purchased at the garden stores to be released in your garden to eat the aphids.

ORGANIC SOLUTIONS

Vinegar, soap and essential oil sprays can be very helpful. A pwder called diatomaceous earth is used a lot as well

POISONS

Even though poisons aren't everyone's first choice sometimes the risk is worth it to remove the pests in order to have a crop at all.

WHAT IS COMPOST?

Compost is basically homemade soil. If compost is made right, it is great for your gardens and crops. It's important to only put the good ingredients in your compost or you can hurt your garden even if you're trying to help.

TRASH

COMPOST

Bees live on every continent in the world except antarctica

Bees travel 15 MPH and will visit 50-100 . in one gathering trip

The hexagon shape of a honey come provides the most strength using the least amount of material

The bee returns to the hive

The honeybee then deposits teh nectar into empty combs

The Bee collects nectar (A clean sugary liquid) from flowers

Beekeeper harvests the honey

The House bee caps the combs in wax

House bees fan their wings to dry the nectar into thick sweet honey