Little helpers in the garden

As I gathered material for the compost pile, my daughter searched for roly poly's, also known as pill bugs. These are her favorite bugs to search for and collect. We even make roly poly houses out of oranges cut in half and placed cut side down under leaf litter to attract them. Of course the compost pile is a favorite place for roly poly's also.
Pill bugs are just one of many decomposers in our landscapes that quietly and tirelessly work day and night to break down organic matter. In the process they leave behind a product vital to the health of plants and animals known as compost. These little helpers work literally under our feet at times. Next time you turn your compost pile or rake a pile of leaves, take a moment to view a world that is often overlooked. You might see roly poly's, centipedes, snails, slugs, springtails, beetles, ants, and earthworms. Also hard at work are microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and others. Without these organisms gardening would be difficult. Yet every year we spend millions of dollars and hundreds of hours trying to eradicate some of these same creatures. Even when we target one specific pest, the impact of the products we use can destroy an ecosystem. This ecosystem may be small, as in your backyard, but if everyone on the block is doing the same, all of a sudden that ecosystem is much bigger. I am guilty of using harmful products myself. The more I educate myself though, the less and less I use. I work very hard at practicing what I preach and look for alternatives even if the alternative is using nothing at all and letting nature take care of itself. We have done a fine job of trying to desrtoy the environment, but we can repair the damage. It is my goal to educate as many people as I can as long as I live. So the next time you reach for that chemical think about those little helpers in the garden, and how important they are. If you must use a chemical please read the label carefully and follow the directions. You may be amazed how a pest problem will take care of it's self. In the meantime you will be protecting your family, pets, and saving some money. We humans are forever trying to change our environment and make it look like what we think it should look like. In fact most of the time we have no clue what we are doing. If nature were not so adaptable we would be extinct by now, by our own hand none the less. Perhaps we should observe nature and learn from her. We will never create an environment as beautiful as she has. And thank goodness for little helpers.