Natural pest control is far less expensive than purchasing and spraying your garden with pesticides. It is also better for the environment, and safer for the plants and the people who will be eating the plants to control pests naturally.
One of the best ways to prevent insect damage to the garden is to deter the insects from coming into the garden in the first place. Having a healthy garden is one of the best means of protection.
1. Reduce insect habitat. Garden areas that contain large amounts of debris, weeds and old leaves are breeding grounds for insects. Remove any dead plant material and weeds, and use fresh, clean mulch. Clean mulch will be free of insect eggs and larvae, where as, old mulch has a potential of containing the eggs or larvae of harmful insects.
2. Create healthy, organic soil. Using natural composting methods, top-dressing, and mulching the soil with natural fertilizer or compost is one of the best ways to grow strong, healthy plants. Healthy plants are far less susceptible to attack by insects. 3. Remove any weak plants from the garden. Weak, scrawny, or slow-growing plants may already be infected. If they are not already infected, they will attract predatory insects. Pull the weak plants and dispose of them in an area away from the garden, so the dead plants will not become breeding grounds for insects.
4. Use seaweed spray or mulch to nourish plants. Seaweed is very nutrient rich, containing the trace elements barium, calcium, iron, zinc, sulfur, and magnesium, all of which promote healthy growth and development in plants. Seaweed in spray-form or mulch will give the plants the health and strength to withstand disease. Seaweed mulch also has the added bonus of repelling slugs.
5. Keep the plant foliage as dry as possible. Make sure to water the plants in the early morning, so that the foliage can dry and remain dry for the majority of the day. Wet foliage is a haven for insects and fungus, that can cause serious damage to the plants. 6. Disinfect your garden tools. Make sure to thoroughly disinfect your garden tools when working with infested plants, before moving on to other areas of the garden. This will reduce the speed of invading insects, and keep you from directly introducing predatory insects to healthy plants. 7. Intermingle plants and rotate crops. Insect pests are typically specific to certain types of plants. When plants are mixed in a garden, it is far less likely for the pests to spread throughout the entire crop. Rotating crops each year is a good way to avoid re-infestation of pests that have wintered in the soil bed.
There are also a multitude of beneficial insects that prey on harmful insects and their larvae. Some of these beneficial insects can be attracted to your garden, while others may need to be purchased from a catalog. There are many different species of beneficial insects for specific problems.
Now that you know how to protect your garden from insects without using pesticides, you can feel good about the food that you are growing. It is safer for the environment and your family.
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