I am starting a garden but I do not want to use pesticides on my vegetables. Any natural suggestions?
The veggies I have planted include jalapeños, green peppers and cucumbers. I read somewhere that planting certain herbs can deter pests.
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there is a plant that is called a mosquito plant it smells like citronella – or sprinkle cayenne pepper in your garden – and on the plants -
Yes certain herbs deter some pests. There are some natural bugs though gross are good for the garden plants. Also there is poplar leaves.. notice the bugs don’t touch them!
Boil the leaves in water. When the water is lukewarm or cool
spray the plants with that water had boiled poplar leaves. You can let the poplar leaves dry out and put them in your bags of flour or sugar to keep bugs from getting in there!
Yes curtain herbs can, if Mr. was here I would ask him which ones.
Also wild birds are our best friends! They eat bugs! Garden snakes do to. Also there are good bugs out there that can eat quite a few of those nasty bad bugs! Praying mantis is one of them, also lady bugs are good for some bugs.
We have a cow dog that is our bug dog! He kills all bugs he sees.
Organic is the way to go I feel!
Certain vegetables, planted together (side by side) have a ‘symbiotic’ effect. For instance, if you plant tomatoes next to garlic, you will have very few problems with aphids on your tomatoes. As a rule of thumb – vegetables that work well together on your dinner plate, work well together in the garden. E.g. peas and carrots, tomatoes and garlic/onions, tomatoes and basil, peppers and cilantro, etc.
Its called “companion planting”, and you can find all kinds of info at your local library, or gardening store.
First, you need to understand that in the bug world there are pests and then there are beneficials. Any topical treatment or systemic treatment that kills beneficials is likely to kill pests. So, even though something may be an “organic” treatment, it may also be toxic to beneficial bugs and insects.
Second: no garden is completely pest free. Get used to the fact that you are going to have to share some of your produce with the bug world.
One of the best topical treatments for veggie pests is insecticidal soap. It kills all insects on contact. But, there are two problems with it – it kills good insects, and, if left on the leaves in direct sun, it can burn the leaves. So, if you use it, wash of the leaves with clean water about 15 minutes after you spray to avoid leave burn. The good thing about it is that it is soap and in small quantities will not make you sick. Veggies treated with insecticidal soap and washed are perfectly safe. Just remember that insecticidal soap breaks down in the environment and you have to use it often to keep pests in control.
Some big leaf veggies like squash will get mildew and die early if you spray the leaves. So, for those types of plants, you might consider pyrethrum dust. It is a natural compound made from flowers and it is sold under a lot of different retail names. It is natural, but it is toxic to a wide range of insects and if ingested by humans, it can make you mildly ill. So, fruits and veggies dusted with pyrethrum dust need to be washed before eating. It will naturally break down in the garden into harmless substances.
There are other really cool natural pesticides, too numerous to mention here. I recommend that you get some good garden books for reference over the years. I still have mine from 30 years ago and read them every year, it seems.
For the plants that you mention, you are most likely to encounter white flies, black aphids, cutworms (soil), and powdery mildew (on the cukes). The flying insects can be controled with naturally occurring lady bugs – if you see them, leave them alone to do their work. Spray or dust only when your plant is overwhelmed by an insect and it is dying. Cutworms eat at the base of plants and can kill small seedlings. I use diatomaceous earth to stop them and snails and slugs. The powdery mildew is a loosing battle. I’ve tried everything. The best way to beat mildew is to only plant veggies that are mildew resistant. Most seed catalogues will tell you which ones are.
The “companion planting” theory is supported by a number of fans, but my experience is that it is a myth. However, there are some plants that can act as a “catch crop” in that insects prefer them to your veggies. One that I use is mint. White flies cover the mint – they love it! – and stay away from my other veggies. Also, yellow sticky cards catch all sorts of insects that light on them. Apparently many are attracted to the color yellow (I’ve heard that others prefer blue).
Hope that helps. Try to stay as organic and pesticide-free as possible. Remember, the bugs were here first. We have to share.
vineger and lemon spray it on
I’m not 100% on plants, but we pour a circle of crushed eggshells around the plants and that keeps the slugs and snails away.
When basil is planted in close proximity to tomatoes, both grow very well. This is a beneficial relationship that hasn’t been explained.
Another similar relationship is between climbing beans, corn, and squash. When the three grow together, they are all happy, but know one knows exactly why.
Excerpt from link below….
While it is rarely known exactly how the plants benefit one another, some generalization can be made. ”Companions” often include plants with contrasting properties: sun-loving and shade-loving ones; plants with deep roots and those with shallow roots; slow-growing and fast-growing plants; heavy feeders and light feeders or crops that incorporate nitrogen into the soil; aromatic plants, which often repel pests, and non-aromatic ones. ones with early flowers that provide pollen and nectar for some insect predators and parasitoids (insects that parasitize insects), and plants that do not bear flowers until late in the season (or that are not allowed to flower); plants that are more attractive to a particular pest than another, i.e. as a trap-crop; and plants that stimulate biological activity in the soil with crops that are heavy feeders.
If you check out the links below, they both have a chart at the bottom of the page that suggests which plants to combine to keep pests away…
Good luck!