Beneficial polyculture

Nature's way: Joe Kovach promotes polyculture, a growing method that imitates the plant diversity found in nature. He says varying plant height, such as by planting in containers attached to fences at different heights, creates different layers of habitat, resulting in a more inviting environment for a variety of beneficial insects. -- MCT photos

YOU might be working harder in the garden than you have to. By taking cues from nature, you can cut down on insect damage, diseases and other problems that often plague food gardens. Add a little human ingenuity, and you can even extend the growing season and skip much of the weeding and watering that make gardening a chore.

Joe Kovach preached those methods as an expert in integrated pest management with the Ohio State University Extension, and he put them to work in research plots where he studied the best ways to grow food on urban land. Now that he’s retired from the university’s Agricultural Research and Development Centre, he is using his methods at Wooster’s GreenPoint Garden, a plot on the north side of Akron city that grows food for Wooster Community Hospital.