Confession: I Am Trans-Farmered

I worked at my father's donut shop very early, but I always felt I was a farmer. I realized it when I was five and enjoyed my aunt and uncle's farm.

Rural life appealed to me, but I was forced to live in the city, wear shoes, and go to school. Sometimes I dug in the rich, black Illinois prairie soil and wondered how deep it went. Insects interested me in school and I got the top grade for my collection in high school.

I took botany in college, but the professor managed to make the semester as boring as possible.

Grades led me onward into more city work and city life. I started some gardening in Sturgis, Michigan.

I really got involved in Midland, Michigan, collecting all the organic books, going to the Grace Dow Library, and trying out all the theories. I liked talking about agriculture with farmers and finding out how they did their work.

My wife Chris recently said, "I thought I married a future pastor or professor and suddenly I was a farmer's wife."

But that farming instinct was suppressed after some fun years in Minnesota. Next, the desert years were not productive for the inner farmer, Leaving the drought years (!) of a desert valley, we managed to move to a beautiful setting in Bella Vista but the main gardening tool was a pickaxe. On the edge of an oak forest, we had shade galore, so there was no need to buy a pickaxe.

Finally, in so-called retirement, I felt free to complete the process of becoming trans-farmered. Our helper joined me in mulching, trimming, digging, and planting. Our neighbor opened up the entire yard for sunlight. I rigged the yard for watering everywhere and worked on the latest and best soil theories.

Horses graze a block away. A nursery is a short walk from our house. People ask me how to fix their gardening problems. I am growing 73 rose bushes and perhaps more some day. I am a farmer.

A Day for Letting the Garden Do God's Work

The rain was coming but never did, so I had no plans to water. After some appointments and errands were done, Sassy gave me her "Bad Daddy Speech," a series of loud barks, often while sitting against me. I tried to offer my side, but she would not let me get a word in. We got the right equipment on - her leash, my Tilley hat, and shoes - off we went.

Our landscaper friend discussed how to apply Jackson Mulch to his roses. He was the first to set up some raised beds but adhered to what he was taught when working full time in the business.

The chiropractor thanked me for the roses we left last week and said his wife could not get over them. His receptionist asked me about growing stuff, and I talked a little about soil microbes. She is on the right track, but the interplay between fungi, bacteria, protozoa, and nematodes is new to gardening. I found the key book by accident, so I wonder how long it will take to get around.

Our helper and his wife talked to Sassy and me on the walk. He said, "What's up for next week?" He was still talking about the nature preserve in the back yard. He and their son were so impressed at all the birds enjoying their food, shelter, and water.

Everything happening now is the result of relatively easy work done last year and early in the spring. The oldest rose garden is bursting with roses, last year's roses firmly established in rich soil.  One KnockOut rose bush alone had over 25 buds on it tdoay, and the hybrid teas are catching up in racing to bloom.

New roses are doing well, including the newest ones. I gave the last 10 the full treatment - immersing them in rainwater and pruning the canes, mulching the bed around the maple tree and watering the canes every day.

"I borage, give thee courage."

Instead of one borage plant, we have one waist-high borage, two smaller ones, and more growing in the backyard. They seed themselves, like dill, so we should have borage forever now. This bee bread is definitely good for gardening and always a conversational plant. "Are the pink flowers girls and the blue flowers boys?" No, but it is fun to let them consider that. Gourds have male and female flowers, but that is another wrinkle in God's Creation.

The two essential parts of Creation gardening are reading, experience, and observation. Wait, that's three. Someone is observing with care. Reading explains why things happen in the garden. I am memorizing the the Walliser book on beneficial insects, because I see so many insects, day and night, and need to know how all of them work together. More on that will follow later.

Experience matters because about 65% of printed gardening wisdom is baloney. One example is adding sand to clay to lighten the soil. Haha. I tried that once and noticed how often the falsehood was repeated in other places. Instead, compost lightened the clay - I tested that myself.

Clay soil is "difficult" - betraying a lack of reading and no experience. Roses are "difficult to grow" - no reading, no experience, no observation.

Perhaps gardening experts are like some faux-theologians, who spin yarns and plagiarize stupidity. They do through the motions but do not believe in what they do. If I see a book showing someone using a roto-tiller, I slam it down, hard.

Observation connects reading and experience. I go outside at night with my flashlight, to see what is eating the roses and the new plants. Observation reinforces what I am trying to learn from books and articles.

I can spot ichneumon wasps and hover (flower) flies easily now. My next ID challenge is the big-eyed bug, another great killer of pests.

The big-eyed bug is 1/6 inch long.

Yes, they are small—measuring a mere 0.375 inch (10 mm) at maturity—but big-eyed bugs are also mighty. Each one is capable of consuming several dozen pests per day, making them among the most valuable natural enemies around. They are also among the most abundant. As generalist predators, they eat a protein-based diet including insect eggs, spider mites, aphids, cabbage worms, caterpillars, flea beetles, leafhoppers, thrips, lygus bug nymphs, corn earworms, whiteflies, and many, many others. One study revealed that big-eyed bugs consume sixty-seven different varieties of insects! These beneficials forage for pests on plants as well as on the soil, making these microhelpers incredibly important to gardeners. Both the nymphs and adults of this amazing little insect are protein eaters. Slightly oblong with a broad head and distinctive wide-set bulging eyes (which help them spot their prey as well as their predators), the adults have clear wings that overlap and rest on their backs. They are brown, black, or gray in color. 

Females lay eggs on or near prey clusters to enable the hatching nymphs to find food quickly. Each female can lay up to three hundred eggs in her lifetime. Nymphs look much the same as adults except they’re a bit smaller and lack wings. Big-eyed bugs mature from egg to adult in about thirty days. Though their primary food source is other insects, big-eyed bugs also feed on nectar, sap, and small seeds to sustain themselves when prey are scarce. They spend the winter in garden debris and grassy areas, and emerge in the spring to begin feeding on prey by piercing them with a specialized mouthpart and sucking out the internal organs (not a bad thought when you consider exactly whose guts they’re consuming!). 

I often find big-eyed bugs in my strawberry patch as well as under the skirts of many low-lying garden plants. Several studies have pointed to the value of cover crops such as crimson clover and alfalfa in increasing big-eyed bug populations. It’s also important to remember that since these beneficial bugs are capable of surviving on nectar, seeds, and sap, having a diversity of flowering plants around means these predators will already be present if and when a pest outbreak occurs.

Among the most abundant predators, big-eyed bugs consume dozens of different insects. Though they are small, they are very valuable allies. This adult Geocoris uliginosus is one of a dozen-plus species occurring in the United States.

Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 647-663). Timber Press. Kindle Edition.

Cosmos - Greek for orderly - like God's Creation.

Cosmos bipinnatus garden cosmos, Mexican aster, common cosmos FAMILY Asteraceae (aster) • annual • North American native • blooms spring to fall • 2–6 feet (0.6–1.8 m) high, 1–2 feet (0.3–0.6 m) wide This native of Mexico has become a common garden plant. It is easy to grow from seed and often found as nursery-grown transplants. Cosmos has leaves with threadlike segments and a feathery appearance. Multiple varieties are available, including those with a smaller stature, bicolored petals, quilled petals, and semi-double or fully double flowers. Rays can be pink, white, red, purple, or lavender, and the central disk flowers are yellow. All prefer full to partial sun and may require staking in windy areas. Garden cosmos readily self-sows and may become weedy if not deadheaded. The flowers and foliage are an attractive source of food and habitat for tachinid flies, parasitic wasps, lacewings, syrphid flies, minute pirate bugs, spiders, ladybugs, big-eyed bugs, damsel bugs, and other beneficial insects.

Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 2135-2148). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Note - The Official Versions of the Emmaus Papers Are Found on Ichabod

My earlier Dropbox links to the Emmaus papers came from Brett Meyer's scans.

I created new links to the official, bonded, Emmaus papers on their website, downloaded them and uploaded them to Dropbox. Whether you have the software or not, you can open the link and save the PDF.

The most interesting material has a way of disappearing from web, shortly after I mention it, so I have the Emmaus materials preserved forever and a day. Those versions are easily to mark and avoid, and also to mark, copy, and paste.

Here is the link out in the open - for Mequon graduates. I do so much for them and only get thanks from their victims.

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2015/06/links-repudiation-of-jay-webbers-oj.html

Repudiation of the Webber Essay - Part Five - Emmaus Conference

Read these quotations and tell mehow Preus still taught UOJ.

Part 5 - Repudiation of Webber OJ Paper



E. The Ancient Fathers and Father Martin (GJ - At least Webber did not call the Reformer “Uncle Marty” as DP Buchholz did – with a smirk – in front of the congregation he was quick to kick out of WELS and start foreclosure of the mortgage.)



At the very beginning of this part of our essay, we indicated that its thrust would be to

explain “why objective justification mattered to the Reformers.” We freely concede that as far as the terminology of this topic is concerned, the Reformers did not usually speak of the objective component of our justification or forgiveness as an objective “justification.” But they most definitely did speak of the objective component of our justification or forgiveness as an objective “forgiveness.” (p. 12)



Webber makes another claim here, but he has no warrants for his conclusion. He is arguing in a circle. As anyone can see, they confuse the Atonement, the act of dying for the sins of the world, with the Pietists’ assumption that this Redemption is the absolution of the sins of the world. But if the sins of the world were absolved at the moment – never sure whether at death or resurrection – then where is this pronouncement recorded? Only the Enthusiasts argue that the Holy Spirit works apart from the Word. Since this is a divine action, for all people and for all time, a clear citation would be appreciated.

Instead these dabblers and speculators in Christian doctrine latch onto a passage, ignore any evidence to the contrary and announced, “I have found OJ here, and there, and lo – in a place no one even suspected OJ to be.”

In fact this has happened over the last decade, mediated by the divines at Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne. Earlier it was conceded that justification was always “by faith” in the Book of Concord and in the New Testament. I read the essay long ago, published at Ft. Wayne. Suddenly, a graduate found once instance of OJ, though it was clearly through his lack of reading comprehension. Now another Ft. Wayne graduate – denied ordination in the LCMS – finds the Book of Concord bristling with OJ, a move Webber borrowed from Professor Deutschland of WELS.

To launch this attack on the ancient Fathers and Luther, Webber must expose his confused and confusing dogma –

An individual is justified by faith, as he believes in the justification that exists for him, and for all people, in Christ. Likewise, an individual receives the forgiveness of his sins, as he clings by faith to the forgiveness of sins that exists for him, and for all people, in Christ. There is a justification, and a forgiveness, that already exist in Christ as a result of Christ’s finished saving work in history, and that are the “object” of saving faith for the penitent and believing subject. (p. 13)

 

He relies on his misuse of “in Christ,” when only believes are “in Christ.” But in Webber’s rationalistic scheme, the entire world is “in Christ” and therefore justified, forgiven, and saved. This kind of prose makes one wish for the relative simplicity of Walther’s false doctrine. Nevertheless, this is a rehash of Walther – making a decision for Universal Absolution. Everyone is already forgiven, so the individual must believe in that dogma of Enthusiasm, which has energized Protestant apostasy ever since Schleiermacher promoted this at…Halle University. That was truly the turning point in modern Protestantism, inventing Faith Without Belief, using the words of Christianity while butchering the meaning of each one – as predicted in the Pastoral Epistles.

Webber’s use of Luther’s analogy on page 13 shows that he does not understand Luther or St. Paul. The issue is not OJ versus justification by faith. Instead, the contrast is between justification by works, by the Law – or justification by faith, through grace. Those who deny justification by faith are necessarily in the camp of justification by works, as most people can tell by listening. The OJ salesmen tell everyone about their family tree, their great works, their honors bestowed by the synod, all of which render them above and beyond our comprehension.

Ironically, Webber proves my point on page 14, where Ambrose is quoted –

John bears witness, saying: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” [John 1:29] Let no one glory, then, in his own works, since no one is justified by his deeds, but one who is just has received a gift, being justified by Baptism. It is faith, therefore, which sets us free by the blood of Christ, for he is blessed whose sin is forgiven and to whom pardon is granted [Psalm 32:1].16

Respecting – really disrespecting Luther – Webber labors endlessly to prove that the Atonement is the same as his precious Objective Justification. That is repudiated so often in Luther that no one needs a list. Justification by faith is just as clearly taught throughout the Book of Concord, if one reads it for edification rather than for political points.

If Webber would not get so excited and speak of world absolution, in harmony with Walther, Stephan, and the World Council of Churches, he could get away with some of his language. Luther often spoke of the Atonement being God’s forgiveness already being accomplished, but never did the Reformer state or imply that everyone in the world was forgiven before birth. Nor did Luther start the WELS/LCMS chant – “I was saved 2000 years ago!”

 

Robert Preus is perhaps the last of the theologians who read and comprehended so much of the post-Concord Lutheran theologians, some of whom were influenced by Pietism. The Preus quotations of Lutherans against UOJ in his Justification and Rome probably came from those theologians realizing the Pietists were distorting justification and teaching falsehood.

Those who want to prove UOJ by what Preus taught earlier should read his last book and take those quotations seriously. But alas, those quotations are ignored, and so are Preus’ own words. Preus grew in his scholarship and learning, as all theologians must, but Webber, McCain, and Cascione are stuck in the 1980s with their class notes.

UOJ Inevitably Leads to This Ridiculous Conclusion - Endorsed by McCain and Cascione

Jack Cascione quoted this against me,
not realizing how ridiculous this statement is.
Everyone bewitched by UOJ cites Edward Preuss.

Paul McCain, when he was not plagiarizing the Church of Rome,
cited the Preus essay and this quotation, against me or the Book of Concord.
I forget which - and he edits CPH books for the LCMS?

This is too plain and clear for the quasi-philosophers of
UOJdom.

Classic Ichabod - 2011 - Robert Preus on Justification by Faith

Robert Preus, Justification and Rome

Dr. Robert Preus is known for advocating UOJ in the 1980s, when Concordia Seminary in Ft. Wayne was also deep into Church Growth Enthusiasm.[1] In his last book, edited after his death by his sons Daniel and Rolf, his clear stance against UOJ is obvious.

When does the imputation of Christ’s righteousness take place? It did not take place when Christ, by doing and suffering, finished the work of atonement and reconciled the world to God. Then and there, when the sins of the world were imputed to Him and He took them, Christ became our righteousness and procured for us remission of sin, justification, and eternal life. “By thus making satisfaction He procured and merited (acquisivit et promeruit) for each and every man remission of all sins, exemption from all punishments of sin, grace and peace with God, eternal righteousness and salvation.”[2]

But the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the sinner takes place when the Holy Spirit brings him to faith through Baptism and the Word of the Gospel. Our sins were imputed to Christ at His suffering and death, imputed objectively after He, by His active and passive obedience, fulfilled and procured all righteousness for us. But the imputation of His righteousness to us takes place when we are brought to faith.[3] 

Quenstedt says, It is not the same thing to say, “Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us” and to say “Christ is our righteousness.” For the imputation did not take place when Christ became our righteousness. The righteousness of Christ is the effect of His office. The imputation is the application of the effect of His office. The one, however, does not do away with the other.  Christ is our righteousness effectively when He justifies us. His righteousness is ours objectively because our faith rests in Him. His righteousness is ours formally in that His righteousness is imputed to us.[4]

Preus quoted this statement from Calov with approval, which is worth repeating -

Although Christ has acquired for us the remission of sins, justification, and sonship, God just the same does not justify us prior to our faith. Nor do we become God's children in Christ in such a way that justification in the mind of God takes place before we believe.[5]

I understand these two passages to be a repudiation of UOJ and an apology for all the harm done in the name of that fad.

---

[1] "In an initial burst of enthusiasm reflecting Preus's concern for missions, the Fort Wayne faculty had petitioned the 1977 convention of the Missouri Synod to have each of its subdivisions or districts ‘make a thorough study of the Church Growth materials.’ What is more, the districts were to be urged to ‘organize, equip, and place into action all of the Church Growth principles as needed in the evangelization of our nation and the world under the norms of the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.’ By the time of the 1986 synodical convention, however, the same faculty, while appreciating the ‘valuable lessons of common sense’ to be learned from Church Growth, asked that ‘the Synod warn against the Arminian and charismatic nature of the church-growth movement.’ Kurt E. Marquart, "Robert D. Preus," Handbook of Evangelical Theologians, ed., Walter A. Elwell, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1995, pp. 353-65. Reprinted in Christian News, 6-26-95, p. 21.                                               

[2] R. Preus footnote: Systema, Par. II, Cap.3, Memb. 2 S. 1, Th. 44 (II, 363). Cf. Abraham Calov, Apodixis Articulorum Fidei (Lueneburg, 1684), 249: “Although Christ has acquired for us the remission of sins, justification, and sonship, God just the same does not justify us prior to our faith. Nor do we become God’s children in Christ in such a way that justification in the mind of God takes place before we believe.” Justification and Rome, footnote 74, p. 131.

[3] Robert D. Preus Justification and Rome, St. Louis: Concordia Academic Press 1997, p. 72.

[4] Systema, Par. III, Cap. 8, S. 2, q. 5, Observatio 19 (II, 787). R. Preus footnote #76, Justification and Rome, p. 132.

[5] Apodixis Articulorum Fidei, Lueneburg, 1684. Cited in Robert D. Preus, Justification and Rome, St. Louis: Concordia Academic Press 1997, p. 131n.           

                                                                                                   

Wild Garden Details - Dare To Deconstruct

Do you despise pigweed because it grows so easily on its own?

Our helper is proud of our wild garden. Long ago, the last portion of the backyard was simply the place where the compost pile was built in a circle of chicken wire. The barrier to fun was a lack of sunlight, which was cured by our pruning party. The volume of branches removed can be measured this way - three men took a long time to get them all to the front curb.

Small logs gave me a way to separate the Butterfly Bushes and keep from being trampled. That looked good so we kept the largest log as a trophy and fence rather than something to be cut up and hauled away. Logs are good for sheltering toads, feeding insect and soil life. Grass and weeds grow up around it for additional shelter and food.

Longer logs with branches still attached are also good. When I lay them out for the  border fence, the attached branches stick up into the air. Tres chic for the birds. They perch on the upper parts to view their territory for danger and food. All sticks and odd branches are piled next to the Jackson Bird Spa, because birds like the way sticks attract bugs.

If, on the other hand, you want to let your border get a little wild and weedy, that’s OK too. In a way, insectary borders are meant to be a substitute of sorts for the weedy habitats we gardeners often feel we should discourage. They provide the same benefits in regard to habitat, food, and prey for natural enemies. But to really do good by your beneficials, why not have both? Plant a beautiful, lively insectary border filled to the brim with exciting and enticing plants, and also relax your anti-weed morals and let some of them be.

Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 1634-1638). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Another lack in the back was water. I extended the Jackson Aqueduct to the back area, running the hose along the ground, just as the Romans lowered their aqueduct height to move the water farther. That gave me a moderately sunny and watered area for sunflowers, Cow Vetch, and Queen Ann's Lace. Later I sowed buckwheat there. Pigweed grows without an invitation and goosefoot usually springs up in rich ground. Both are edible and good for the soil.

For backup, I placed a second community pool in the wild garden. I need to cut the pool walls to make it more hospitable to birds, toads, and creepy crawly things. Making the pool shallower also helps in dumping and refilling it. I do not think it gets much action now, but I wanted the creatures to get used to it first. The second pool in the vegetable garden is cut down - disgracefully dirty each day - thanks to high traffic from the avian Air Force.

Water, shelter, and food will multiply the toads,
who decimate the pests.

Always - Always
We now have constant activity from God's Creation because the creatures always have:

1. Water in pools for bathing and drinking.
2. Flat dishes that collect rain for hydrating toads, who do not drink but soak up their water.
3. Suet in baskets for the insect eating birds.
4. Seed in the feeder for the finches and chickadees.
5. Many kinds of plants for food and for harboring insects the birds enjoy.
6. No cats to bother them.

Norma Boeckler's cardinals -
these shy birds now eat a few feet from me.

"Your Yard Is a Wildlife Sanctuary - All the Birds Flew Up When My Son and I Came Back Here"

Raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, blackberries, and many more plants
are growing to feed us and the birds.

Our helper brought his son to assist in some new projects. Weeds burst through the mulch in Mrs. Gardener's roses. They were dandelions and unusually robust. Our helper and his son were waiting when I finished a front yard chore, then he said, "Your yard is a wildlife sanctuary now. It was nothing when you moved here. All the birds flew up when my son and I opened the gate and came back here." He was quite excited and happy, which is one of the benefits of having help in various ways. Many have some ownership in the efforts.

Sassy and I went to Lowe's for the mulch. They know her by name and called out to her. Of course, when a woman makes a fuss over Sassy and kneels down to pet her, Sassy responds with a big show of love.

Today we waited a bit in the dentist's office, so I brushed up on plants to grow for beneficial insects. I was glad no insecticide was around when I looked over the roses at night. I saw many creatures that were probably enemies of the pests. It is so easy to wipe them all out and then spray even more when the pests return in triumph.

Sunflowers and coreopsis are two flowers that host beneficial insects. Sunflowers are more like aircraft carriers for beneficial insects. They have so much nectar and pollen that many can varieties dine there while waiting to attack the pests - often by letting their eggs hatch on or near the destructive insects.

Walliser thinks my Queen Ann's Lace, imported from Lowe's empty lot,
belongs near semis on the Interstate.

The plant, from which all edible carrots were cultivated, is a native of Europe that has naturalized in every part of the continental United States and Canada, a biennial whose seeds are readily dispersed. Its tough nature makes it perfectly suited to disturbed sites, but it is now listed as a noxious weed in several states and the sale and import of its seeds are prohibited in others. Ammi majus and D. carota were found to attract an equal number of minute pirate bugs in field studies, so I suggest you introduce A. majus to your insectary border and leave the D. carota next to the semis on the interstate. [GJ - Haha. Garden writers can be so caustic.]

Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 1821-1825). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Coreopsis is an easy bloomer -
mine bloomed the day after planting.

Called tickseed for their buggy-looking seeds, these North American natives may already have a home in your garden. Several dozen species of coreopsis exist, and quite a few of them are common garden perennials. They have become so popular because of their ease of growth, long flowering period, drought tolerance, deer resistance, and all-around good looks. Nearly all coreopsis are attractive to good bugs of all sorts, including minute pirate bugs, parasitic wasps, soldier beetles, syrphid flies, lacewings, and spiders.


Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 2075-2079). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Cilantro for eating and for beneficial insects.

Cilantro does best in full to partial sun and average garden soil. Because cilantro production is best in cool weather, plant seeds in early spring or fall in northern climes, and in fall or winter in the South. Once the plant begins to send up a flower stalk, stop harvesting and allow the flowers to open. Soon the plant will be buzzing with lacewings, ladybugs, syrphid flies, parasitic wasps, tachinid flies, soldier beetles, minute pirate bugs, and lots of other natural enemies and pollinators.


Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 2127-2128). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Easily sown, fasting growing, buckwheat.

Some are perennials or shrubs, while others are annuals. However, most are resistant to drought; thrive in hot, arid climates; and are magnets for butterflies and natural enemies, including lacewings, ladybugs, syrphid flies, parasitic wasps, tachinid flies, big-eyed bugs, damsel bugs, and minute pirate bugs. I’ll mention just a handful of the many valuable insectary species here. Eriogonum annuum, annual native buckwheat, has a very broad native range...


Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 2192-2196). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Each sunflower is an aircraft carrier for beneficial insects,
not just the bumblebees seed in this photo.

Sunflowers are a pollen and nectar source for a large diversity of natural enemies. In addition to their flower-based nutrition, sunflowers also provide natural enemies and other insects with extrafloral nectar produced via glands on the undersides of their leaves. The presence of sunflowers in cropping systems is known to significantly increase the population of many natural enemies, including lacewings, big-eyed bugs, assassin bugs, spiders, predaceous stink bugs, minute pirate bugs, robber flies, soldier beetles, and parasitoids of all sorts. Hundreds of species of pollinators also find them highly attractive. The blossoms of sunflowers are not a single large flower but rather a grouping of thousands of tiny individual flowers organized into a central disc shape. Careful examination shows a pattern of two opposite flower spirals in each flower head (fabulous Fibonacci!). These small disk flowers are then surrounded with one or more rows of ray flowers (petals). Each of the tiny disk flowers requires pollination to produce a seed, and the nectary within each flower is fully concealed at the base of the style (the tube that separates the ovary from the pollen-receiving stigma).


Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 2320-2329). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Shastas and other plants for beneficial insects.

Shastas are classic-looking daisies—a central core of tiny yellow disk flowers surrounded by white ray flowers. Each of these inflorescences measures 2 or more inches (5 cm) across. The plant’s glossy dark green leaves have small teeth on their margins and create good habitat for predatory bugs like assassin, damsel, and spined soldier bugs. The nectar and pollen from the flowers is preferred by some species of parasitic wasps, minute pirate bugs, lacewings, soldier beetles, ladybugs, and syrphid flies. I propose that you plant this daisy instead of the oxeye daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, syn. Leucanthemum vulgare), which is often recommended for insectary plantings but is also on the noxious weed list for many states. Oxeye daisy does, indeed, support beneficials, but it is an aggressive grower that overtakes pastures and displaces native plant species. Although the Shasta daisy, too, is a European introduction, it is far less assertive and is also an attractive garden plant and cut flower.


Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 2382-2390). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

Scarlet Runner beans need to be ordered early in the season.
They sell out fast because they attract hummingbirds.