Lamb's Quarters

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Leaf miners

Leaf miners

Agromyzidae

Pale trails inside the leaf — mostly harmless, and out of reach of any spray.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

to keep them in check — plant French MarigoldGreat, African MarigoldGood and Mexican FleabaneGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Direct-sow Lamb's Quarters outdoors around your last frost date, keeping seeds in cooler soil (around 10–18 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 14 days. Grow in full sun, spaced about 20 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 60 days.

Keep track of the seeds you own.

Companion Planting

• 
  French Marigold
  

  French MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧French Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids that attack Lamb's Quarters
  • ❧French Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Lamb's Quarters
  • ❧French Marigold acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Lamb's Quarters
• 
  Bird's-foot Trefoil
  

  Bird's-foot TrefoilGreat pair

  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil attracts Ladybugs and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Leaf miners that attack Lamb's Quarters
  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil fixes nitrogen in the soil that Lamb's Quarters feeds on
  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Lamb's Quarters
• 
  Gai Lan
  

  Gai LanGreat pair

  • ❧Gai Lan attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Leaf miners that attack Lamb's Quarters
  • ❧Gai Lan suppresses pests that trouble Lamb's Quarters
  • ❧Gai Lan acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Lamb's Quarters

How to grow Lamb's Quarters

1. Sow0 weeks from frost
2. Germinates14 days
3. Space20 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~60 days

Water: Low · Height: 90 cm · Soil: Well-draining, fertile — common weed of garden soil