26
5 Tips on How to Keep Your Garden Bug Free: Organic Garden Pest Control That Really Works
Filed Under (gardening) by Amelia Lathyrus on 26-04-2009
Various kinds of pests are one of the annoying drawbacks that every kind of garden suffers from. Organic gardens are unfortunately no exception to this rule!
In a conventional garden you fight these pests in a different way than in your organic garden. In an ordinary or non organic garden strong chemicals are regularly used to fight the pests. These chemicals harm every living thing, including plants, good bugs (yes there are plenty!), your soil and you and your family, as well as accumulating and trickling down into the ground water.
Step 1: Organic Garden Pest Control by Hand If you want a really cheap and easy way to get rid of the easy-to-see bugs this is the one. While strolling around your garden in the evening or in the early mornings, look closely on your plants and pick all the harmful bugs you can see and are able to pick. Then either squash them or drown them in a conatiner with soapy water.
Step 2: Organic Garden Pest Control with solutions to spray A simple way to fight bugs is to suffocate them with soapy water. Just mix 1 dl of natural soap with 1 liter of water, then pour into a spray bottle and spray away at your plants. Make sure you cover the whole plant with the mixture, and repeat now and then to get rid of the bugs that subsequently hatch.
Usually kills of both aphids and spider mites, but sometimes the latter ones are a bit difficult.
If you want to try a more efficient and stronger solution to spray on your plants, here is one: Mix well 2-3 garlic cloves, some large chili peppers and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in your blender. Strain, then add the fluid plus 1 tablespoon natural soap to 1 liter of water and make sure you mix the ingredients well together. This should be sprayed on your plants in the morning or in the afternoon/evening, and preferably when cloudy, to avoid damage on the leaves.
The effects of this solution are more widespread than the soapy water, as it may scare away even moles and mice if they smell it near their holes. But the backside of this remedy is this: It will scare away the good bugs as well. But there is a way to avoid this:
Tips 3 for Your Organic Garden Pest Control: Introducing the good bugs This is professionaly called biological pest control. There are several bugs that do the job, the ladybug for one is a really good worker eating aphids with a healthy appetite. Others that are also good at this are the lacewing and the praying mantis. They can be cajoled to move into your garden by growing plants that attract them, or bought in egg sacks or live from a company specialised in this area. Using biological pest control is totally environmentally friendly, as you use the good bugs to establish an ecological balance between them and the ones you that harm your crop.
Step 4: Organic Garden Pest Control by Growing Scary Plants That is, the only ones to get scared are the of course the bugs! Onions planted together with your carrots will deter the carrot root fly from eating away at your carrots. Plant lavender along your garden path and smell the fragrance when you pass by… Marigold are lovely when planted amongst your veggies in your vegetable garden, and can of course be a part of any flower bed, there are so many varieties to choose from.
Make sure your plants grow in healthy soil, rich in nutrients, in order to keep them vigorous and strong. By doing that your plants will be able to flourish even if they are attacked by one pest or another.
Organic Garden Pest Control 5: Killing ants, slugs, fleas, beetles and many other crawling insects Diatomaceous earth works through piercing the exoskeleton of these creatures, causing them to dry out. Lightly coat a thin layer on the ground where ever you have a problem, repeat when necessary, for example after watering or after heavy rain.
Hollyhock horror! That is what I think of the fungus causing the leaves of this lovely oldfashioned flower to turn reddish brown, and then fall off leaving the naked stem with only the flowers at the top. But there is an environmentally friendly way to save them:
Fill a kettle with horsetail, add water to cover and boil for at least 10 minutes. Then filter, dilute 5 to 10 times with water, pour into spray bottle and spray your plants all over, including under the leaves.
I wish you good luck in keeping a heatlhy and beautiful garden!


