Chemical pesticides can cause health and environmental problems. Many people are becoming more aware of the dangers and want to be more environmentally and health conscious but do not know of the available options they have for pest control in their gardens. Many natural substances found in your kitchen and around your home can be used in your garden to keep away bugs, fertilize the soil or kill weeds. You can enjoy natural gardening without resorting to harsh and dangerous chemicals and pesticides.
They are many ways to control pests in the garden without resorting to pesticides. One old-fashioned way is by using a soap spray. You can mix 3 tablespoons of a mild soap with a gallon of water. Spray on the plants with a spray bottle. This kills most soft-bodied insects, such as aphids, mealy bugs, spider mites, stinkbugs, crickets and grasshoppers. Most of the insects will be dead within an hour. Some plants can be damaged by repeated soap sprays though. Cabbage, cucumbers and melons should either not be sprayed or rinsed thoroughly a couple hours after spraying.
Another alternative is Pyrethrum, a natural pesticide derived from chrysanthemums. It kills many insects and repels others. It should be sprayed in the evening. Do not combine with soap sprays. Diatomaceous earth, a mineral dust, can be found in most plant nurseries. It kills many insects; make sure you buy the kind specifically for gardens.
Crushed mint leaves, oil of clove and camphor are all natural insect repellents and can be used around your garden and in your home. For ants you can sprinkle powdered chili pepper, paprika, dried peppermint, borax or blended citrus peel and water to stop them from entering an area. To keep mosquitoes off while you are in the garden, you can dilute pennyroyal or citronella oil with olive oil and rub on your skin. Or you can rub vinegar on your skin with a cotton ball. Bugs also hate menthol odors. If you rub chest rubs that you use to relieve congestion onto your body, the bugs will stay off you.
Aluminum foil strips mixed in with your mulch can keep bugs away from your plants and reflect light onto them.
Sprinkle handfuls of baking soda into cement cracks and spaces between patio stones and pavers to keep weeds and grass from growing.catter powdered chalk around plants to repel ants and slugs.
Use ground or cut-up banana peels buried 2 inches deep around rose bushes and other aphid-prone plants to repel the aphids and keep them from attacking. Bananas also make great fertilizer because of their high potassium content.
ΒΌ cup ammonia mixed with 1 gallon of water is a great fertilizer for alkaline-loving plants.
A great natural cleaner for resin lawn furniture, pots and other garden ornaments is a wet sponge dipped in baking soda.
Plants for pest control
Another very effective from of pest control is using plants that repel insects. Asters repel most insects. Basil repels flies and mosquitoes. Borage repels tomato worm and should be planted near tomatoes. Calendula repels most insects, as do chrysanthemums.
Garlic deters the Japanese beetle and some other insects, and marigold discourages Mexican bean beetles, nematodes and other insects. Mint deters ants. Onions repel many insects. Petunias should be used as a companion plant to beans. Peppermint should be planted with cabbage to deter the cabbage butterfly. Rue deters Japanese beetles. Many other plants, especially herbs, should be used as companion plants for certain vegetables to keep away insects that eat and destroy the vegetables.
With knowledge and work you can control the pests and enjoy natural gardening without resorting to chemicals and pesticides.
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One of the most important things you can pass along to kids is the love and importance of organic gardening. Organic gardens are free of chemicals and much better for the environment. Organic gardening is a state of mind. |
