Successful gardening in grandmother's era employed crop rotations, plant diversity, specific plant groupings, lots of straw-laden manure, and probably a few old hens for insect and disease control. I'll never forget, as a child, watching the old hens dash toward any webworm who lost his footing and plunged to the ground.

As we moved into the post World War II era, chemicals gained supremacy as fertilizers, weed killers and insect control introduced what is often called 'modern agriculture'.

In a few years, some voices questioned the wisdom of this movement, but it wasn't until about 1985 that the drive toward chemical dependency slowed. The trend shifted to try to let nature work, aided by chemicals only when needed, and in harmony with nature. Integrated pest management is now a mainstay in agriculture production.

At the time I was operating a rather large orchard and produce business and in several years was able to slice my chemical bill in half. I feel a bit sheepish now admitting that chemical controls in the early 1980's slightly exceeded ten percent of our gross income.

In the last ten years or so, science has advanced to the point where modification of the genetic base of the plant is possible. We have created field crops that now resist insects without chemicals and desired plants that ignore the effects of some common contact herbicides.

While many herald the resulting diminished use of chemicals, many others fear this technology. I won't offer an opinion on what some distracters call Franken-science but will point out that it is now a mainstay of commercial agriculture in this country.

More recently, the research has begun to shift from bigger flowers, bigger yields and what have you to the actual workings of nature. In one trial, researchers planted 250 varieties of heirloom peas. To their surprise, 13 of these varieties exhibited natural weed killing characteristics. No word yet on what this did to yield or whether I would want those peas on my supper table.

Walnut trees are notorious for killing plants, but recently it has been discovered that lima beans will thrive in their presence. Interestingly, the flavor of the bean changes slightly.

A third example, reported in a nursery publication, shows that the flower lantana offers weed control of members of the milkweed family when planted together.

Much research today is focusing on helping the plant help itself. There is also a compelling body of evidence forming that plants communicate one to another. For example, it has been shown that an insect infested plant can inform its neighbors of its problem and that they will build natural defenses to protect themselves.

The future may bring a closer working with nature. Is this progress or are we just mastering what grandmother knew when she left her earthly gardens fifty years ago?