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Try These 7 Organic Pest Control Methods

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Controlling Pest Organically Is Much More Beneficial!

There is always a pest here and there who apparently wants to take over our garden. Despite their persistence there is always some way to get the better of them. Fact is some methods work better than others, so we have to just keep trying until we find the one that works best.

The article below shares some interesting pest control methods that I am sure you will find useful to your daily gardening efforts. Do not get discourage there is always some way out.

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7 Organic Pest Control Methods

Sometimes organic gardening gets a bad rap.  Here’s how a scenario usually plays out.  A gardener tills up some ground and plants his favorite plants.  He waters and weeds.  He notices a few pests but since he’s growing “organically” he leaves them alone. About mid season his plants are struggling because they are overrun with pests. He’s frustrated and overwhelmed and so runs out and buys a commercial white powder that kills the pests. Within days of sprinkling the powder on the plants, they are doing better and he declares organic gardening a failure.

The problem isn’t that organic gardening failed, the problem is that he believed organic gardening meant doing nothing to deter or get rid of pests. On the contrary, organic gardening basically means using the least harmful method of controlling pests and diseases. It also means that the plant is not looked on as an isolated thing but part of bigger ecological system and doing what’s best for the system as a whole instead of what’s best for just the plant.

So how can you put organic pest control to work in your garden?

Build the soil. Growing great plants always starts with soil. If you have dead soil because you’ve killed every living thing but your plant, the plant will not thrive. Each year you will have to add more and more fertilizer to get the same results. Building your soil takes time but if you will stop tilling and start adding compost your soil will become healthy over time. Healthy soil = healthy plants.

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Rotate the crops. Don’t make it easy for the pests to find your plants by planting the same plants in the same spots year after year. Here is a simple order for rotating crops – legumes, leaf, fruit, roots. No one does this perfectly so don’t get all hung up on it, just try to not plant the same thing in the same spot year after year.

Plant some companions. There are some plants that pests just don’t like. Radishes will deter cucumber beetles, borage will deter tomato hornworms and cabbage moths, onions and garlic have a strong smell and can be planted throughout the garden. Some plants can be planted as a trap for pests. Sunflowers will keep aphids occupied and off other plants, hyacinth beans will do the same for leaf footed bugs. Some plants will attract beneficial bugs to your garden. Chamomile and buckwheat both attract bees and ladybugs. And guess what ladybugs like to eat….aphids.  So mix up your beds, you don’t need to have nice neat row crops to have a successful garden.

Pick varieties that naturally discourage pests. If you have trouble with vine borers pick a variety of squash that has a thinner or harder stem; butternut squash, green striped cushaw, Dickenson pumpkin and summer crookneck are somewhat resistant to  vine borers. To discourage earworms in corn choose tightly husked varieties such as ‘Country Gentlemen’ and ‘Victory Golden’.  We’re not talking about GMO seeds, just varieties that naturally make it hard for pests to attack.

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Encourage beneficial insects. Not all bugs or insects are harmful. In fact many are beneficial. Ladybugs and hoverflies eat aphids. Parasitic braconid wasps kill tomato hornworms. Paper wasps, spiders, and many other bugs and insects are very good for your garden. If you use a commercial all inclusive pest control powder, you’ll kill all the beneficial bugs and insects in your garden and you don’t want to do that. Be sure to plant flowers that attract these bugs and insects. Dill, tansy, coriander….

Read the rest of this article at attainable-sustainable.net

Schneiderpeeps

 

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