Q: Have you ever tried grinding straw for mulch? This year I dragged my ancient leaf chopper out of the basement and ran two bales of straw through it. I got the most beautiful golden mulch. It really creates a whole new look in the flower beds.

A: I’m sure your mulch is beautiful but I use wheat straw in my garden for a different reason: it attracts beneficial spiders. Arachnophobes might recoil at my suggestion but when they see the diminished number of sucking insects, their convictions might change. I rarely see spiders during the day unless I go looking for them. My guess is that they hide during the day but go hunting for aphids at night. I use less insecticide as a result!