thenakedorchid McCoy

I believe you're right, LW. I found one of those green caterpillars on my dill a couple days ago. Strangely enough I've never seen them on my spinach (probably bc they're on the undersides!)

I took a much closer look at my spinach leaves this morning. All the badly eaten leaves had what looked like black crumbs on their undersides. Eggs or droppings of some kind?

I'm in Houston, TX. I placed the basil on the south side of the herb spiral, where it almost always gets sun. My insectary plants are on the north half, though to some degrees either east or west. So it's a possibility that the basil is too far away from the insectary plants. I'm quite certain it's leaf miners that are bothering my basil, I see a few leaves with the characteristic white lines that I pinch off. The damage is not too bad on my basil. But I have no idea what's eating my spinach, and I would say the damage for them IS extensive. This is despite the fact that the spinach IS next to a few of the insectary plants. I've never seen the culprit, but the young leaves barely have a chance to grow an inch out of the ground before they start getting eaten, and the holes in the larger leaves are very big. I'm not going to have any spinach to eat at this rate.

Thanks LW for the suggestions. I'm planning on adding a crescent hedge around my spiral and I'll add yarrow and lantana on my list of possible plants to include.

I have some young spinach plants that are being eaten by something unknown, and a basil plant that has some leaf miners. I've planted all of these in the same spiral bed as dill, spearmint, cilantro and parsley, which all have purported insectary benefits. I'm new to using insectary plants, so forgive my ignorance, but... none of them seem to be working! Are the beneficial insects only attracted when the insectary plants are blooming? Or perhaps there are other pieces of the puzzle that I'm missing? Any help would be appreciated.

This topic had exactly the information I was looking for! I am thinking of adding white clover to my vegetable bed to help prepare for the winter.

Are there any vegetables for which this would be a bad idea? I have quite a few salad greens and I wonder if the clover would smother them.

How about for herb gardens? Would they be a bad idea under hot-dry loving herbs like rosemary and oregano because they would keep the ground too moist?

Thank you for your suggestions, everyone! A lot of your suggestions are books I was already considering getting my hands on. I was feeling a bit wishy washy about Fukuoka's book, but at your recommendation I think that will be one of the next ones on my list. I don't have the money for Mollison's or Jacke's books right now, though they are on my long term list, as is Sepp Holzer's book.

Are there any permaculture books that you've found particularly useful for small spaces? I live in the city. I'm considering either "Food Not Lawns" or "The Edible Front Yard." Can anyone weigh in on those two?

Maybe good for use in the house? If it repels ALL insects, I don't think I would want any eau de death in my garden.

I've watched "Food Matters" and have heard of "Dying to Have Known" and "The Beautiful Truth." I've been trying to make time to watch those two on Netflix, perhaps now I'll boost them up to higher priority.

About it being illegal for doctors to prescribe medicine to cancer patients... well I think the definition of "prescribe" needs to be clarified. Because I think that "prescribe" probably has a different legal meaning to doctors as "advise." Doctors may not write out a prescription slip for vegetable juicing recipes. That (and other prescriptions in that vein), if NOT illegal, is certainly not done AFAIK, and it wouldn't surprise me if it is because it is illegal as the film claims. But doctors may advise patients on complementary therapies and healthy lifestyle choices in general. And I think some do, if they're good doctors.

I guess I'm not sure what you mean by "the end." The end of what? Of humankind? Of society as we know it? Of all the species that have had gmo versions released into the environment?

Besides Gaia's Garden, which I've already read?

I know there's no substitute to going out in your own yard and doing it, which I am starting to. But I can't be in my garden all day, and a beginner needs all the help she can get. Which permaculture books have you read that you found most valuable? Feel free to include books related to permaculture.

I'm guessing Sepp Holzer's Permaculture will be included on a lot of people's lists.