Organic garden requires organic pest control. It is safer, cleaner and eco-friendly way to eliminate those nasty, green, crawly tiny monsters.
Sure, it would be easy to do that with the chemical version of a shotgun. But please, consider you and your kids having to eat the veggies. Chemical pesticides are only storing up problems for your future health and life.
Most chemical pesticides are not specific that they may kill the good guys along with the bad ones. More over, by frequently using chemicals, some pests may become more immune and harder to kill. Next thing you know, they are resistant to all kinds of “weapon” you use. You are screwed then, aren’t you?
The best thing to do, instead, is trying to prevent them from becoming such annoying problem in the first place!
First, you need to look at how you garden. At the end of the growing season, for example, make sure you tidy up all plant debris. Regularly rotate the crop is a good way, too. Planting the same plant in the same spot year after year may just attract bugs and diseases. Instead, carefully plan what you plant each season.
You may also want to not take care of the same plant family in the same place. Instead, place them in groups or blocks. It will help you plan the crop rotation more easily.
Here are some plant families and their members:
- Peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and aubergines in nightshade family
- Cabbage, brussel sprouts, mustard greens and cauliflowers in brassicas family
- Cucumbers, melons and courgettes in cucurbits family.
Garlic is a positive contribution, too. Plant garlic with tomatoes to keep red spider mites away. Plant it around fruit trees to repel borers. Spray garlic pesticide on sweet potatoes to keep rabbits away. And spray ponds with garlic-based oil to kill mosquitoes.
If you had bad experience with a particular crop attacked by some bugs, consider breaking up your planting a bit, either with rows, part rows or unrelated flowers or vegetables.
Planting barrier in your garden can also be useful. Floating row covers will keep carrot flies away. While wire fence buried three feet deep around the garden will keep rabbits out.
Last but not least, avoid chemical pesticides. Instead, use the organic ones, such as insecticidal soap, neem, holticultural oil, pyrethrins, sabadilla, rotenone and potassium bicarbonate. Keep in mind that just because a pesticide is organic does not mean it is never toxic. Always follow the instructions and cautions on its label.
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Land is so generous that it makes up for every piece of hard work. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
