Great info, Pure, Thanks!!
Here I am feeling very troubled about what to rotate my garlic beds into... I had decided that carrots was worth a try - and I did rotate one of last year's beds into carrots... I sure wasn't thinking about wireworms.
One of the onion beds l rotated to beets and beans... again, could be a wireworm festival at least the beets. I just pulled my 2nd year porcelains from a different bed, and there is some damage on them too - not as much, but a sign the wireworms are on the increase.
I have also been quite worried about wasted effort due to the amount of free running critters in my place, and doubting about getting a crop other than garlic, which they don't care for. Now, of all things, I confirmed a couple of days ago that there is a RAT about the garden.
I guess I was in denial about the maker of the hole and thief of last year's tomatoes, hoping it was just the usual squirrels, but no. It is a very large (and I must say healthy looking!) brown rat.
It is at least twice the size of our local squirrels and close to the size of a cat.
So I have even more doubts about the benefit of increasing agricultural activity in crops that attract even nastier wildlife. I must say tomatoes seem to be a rat magnet in this part of the planet.
I am personally partial to brown mustard as a condiment.
I could definitely see putting some mustard rotations in without catering to the critter scene.
I could sow buckwheat in spring, and I actually am fond of that too if I get a grain harvest, while I don't think it would be of great critter interest. And I don't care for radishes so I like the trap crop idea too, for the wireworm purposes. All worth a try for sure, to keep my fallow beds out of weeds and grass, at least!
If not for these issues, I think I could grow garlic and onions galore here, with no trouble from the usual suspects.