If you are familiar with gardening you know that pests can destroy a season’s worth of work if left unchecked. Maintaining a healthy garden without using chemical products is easy if you do a little bit of research. Check out a few of the great ways to protect your garden from pests while still keeping it organic.
1. Garlic
Garlic is great for a number of different pests, and it’s easy to use, as well. All you need to do is to start with 3 ounces of finely chopped garlic and mix it with two teaspoons of mineral oil. After a 24 hour soak, you can add it to one pint of water and ¼ n ounce of dish soap. This is a great all-purpose insect spray, and when you go to use it, all you need to do is to take about tablespoon of this mixture and mix it with a pint of water. Test the mixture on some lower leaves to make sure that you have not made it strong, but this can be a great way to fight really persistent pests.
2. Weed Regularly
We already know that weeds can choke out the desirable plants, but they can also play host to a number of undesirable pests as well! Make sure that your garden is free of debris, where insects can nest. When you have finished the weeding, make sure that you put the refuse far away from your garden, to make sure that the pests that you have cleared out don’t return.
3. Milk
Milk is good for you, and great for your garden. When you mix one part milk to nine parts water, you can spray the mixture every week or so to prevent things like powdery mildew. Use it whenever you see black spots on your vegetables or your roses.
4. Composite Flowers
Not only will these flowers be a great and colorful addition to your garden, you’ll find that they’ll attract the useful insects as well. Ladybugs and lacewings are both attracted to these flowers and you’ll find that they can help reduce pests a great deal. For some great composite flowers to add, look at yarrow, chicory, chrysanthemums ad dahlias.
5. Newspapers and Cardboard
Use newspapers and cardboard layered on top of your weeds to suffocate them by keeping them away from the light and the water. If you do this in the fall, your garden will have a great weed-free start in the spring.
For other organic gardening tips check out myorganicfoodgarden.com.
Brilliant, and of course there are crushed shells at the base of plants to prevent slugs and snails too. My favourite is being outside picking the caterpillars off my plants by hand!
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Whatever you do don’t hurt the worms in your garden. They keep the soil from becoming solid (like peet moss) and helps the water move from the surface down into the soil where the roots need it. ;0)
See you in class.
Jay