Organic pest control

“The value of the product comes from effort needed to make it.”
Basics of Marketing and Economics.


Introduction.
It's every gardener’s nightmare: full of expectations to pick up something fresh and juicy from your garden, you go out in the morning to check out your crop and stop, horror-struck as your crop was eaten away by slugs and caterpillars. What would most of us do in this situation? Yes, run to the store to stock up with sprays and pellets.
Unfortunately, if you are not going to be specific in the shop, you'd be sold pesticides (read about pesticides harmful consequences in my article organic-food-organic-life-organic-fashion.html).
If you'll ask for Organic Pest Control sprays in the shop, you'll be surprised how expensive the little organic bottle would cost. However, most of home – made organic pest control dealings are cheap, preventive, non – toxic, safe and beneficial for the environment: animals, birds and “good bugs”.
One of the many sad effects of applying pesticides in the garden is that they kill the beneficial insects as well as destroy natural balance. Generally, pests have a very good resistance to pesticides and in a very short period they will return in twice the amount, whereas beneficial bugs have a much more slower reproductive rate. As a result, more and more pesticides are required to deal with the problem. Thankfully, there are a lot of organic methods to keep your garden-unfriendly pests under control.


What is pest?
In agriculture, pests are any organisms that significantly interfere with crop, plant or animal productivity. They can be in the form of:

• - problem insects (slugs or caterpillars, for example);
  
• - fungi or bacteria (black spots);
  
• - weeds;
  

Before we consider how to fight them on a preventive and defensive levels, it is important to remember, that in an organic garden you are not trying to remove all the pests completely (I always find non – organic farms look eerie without any bugs, frogs and weeds) but to keep your crop from SERIOUS damage, remembering, that a bit of blemish or a friendly worm on an apple is actually ok. Almost all the pests in our gardens are food for a lot of living creatures and removing them completely will backfire on you.
The best way to keep your garden under control is to use preventive measures.


Preventive Measures.

• Healthy soil. If you soil is poor or too acidic, your plants will inevitably develop problems and this will attract pests. Build in your garden healthy organic soil, it'll take some time, but you'll get great benefits. Apply mulch (how to choose and use mulch please follow this link all-about-mulch.html); it'll incorporate a lot of organic matter into your soil plus significantly decrease weeds, protect your plants from heat during the summer, the cold during winter and prevent water from evaporation during the heat. Practice a no – dig garden, it'll eliminate soil disturbance. Soil is a complex eco-system with millions of microorganisms and worms. When we are digging the soil, we are destroying this eco-system and it takes a lot of years to restore. When we are disturbing (digging) the soil, we are damaging water retention and structure that leads to the erosion and introducing pests into the soil. To learn how to make a no – dig – bed, follow this link its-simple-make-your-own-no-dig-bed.html
  
• Plant in the right spot and give the space to your plants. Examine your block of land and plant in the right place (slope, shade, sunny location...). Always read the instructions before planting. Space your plants properly to avoid unnecessary competition and moist that will feed the fungi.
  
• Crop rotation. Rotating crop means not to plant in the same spot plants from the same family, as they are prone to the same diseases and take the same nutrients from the soil. For example: tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants belong to the same family. Applying the crop rotation rule: don't plant any of them next year in the same bed; grow something from another family instead. To learn more about the crop rotation technique please follow the link: starting-a-veggie-patch.html
  
• Attract beneficial insects. There are two types of beneficial bugs in the garden:
  

- Predators that eat insects: spiders, praying mantis or ladybugs etc.;
- Parasites: the insect that lays an egg inside the host body and after a while an adult insect comes out of the body. Example: parasitic wasp.
The best way to attract this useful bugs plant: mints, yarrow, cornflower, fennel, dandelion, sunflower, pussy willow and corn. If you think that you still don't have enough of these bugs, you can purchase them on-line.

• Scouting and hand picking. Its a good idea to walk around your garden a few times a week and try to locate any pests: examine leaves and soil for any damage or signs of larvae or eggs; you can hand pick and squash them on the spot before they spread around.
  
• Companion planting. It is a special organic gardening technique where you interplant your crop with special plants that attract beneficial insects, ward off pests, disguise vulnerable plants and increase productivity. I like to interplant marigolds next to silver beet as the white flies will avoid pungent flowers; nasturtium next to cabbages as caterpillars prefer to eat more delicate nasturtium flowers rather than the tough cabbage ones and radishes next to cucumbers to deter cucumber beetle.
  
• Row covers. Made out of light fabrics sheets (just stretch them over wire hoops), they are a good protection against pests and cold weather and particularly good for young plants.
  
• Deterrent and barriers. A lot of bugs are sensitive to a rough surfaces or barriers. Slugs, for example, can’t pass crushed eggshells or copper piping. A lot of pests are deterred by mulch: coffee waste or straw.
  
• Water properly. Water deep and less frequently. Avoid shallow watering and keep the leaves as dry as possible; humidity gives the opportunity for fungi to develop and spread. By sticking to this watering method you'll grow plants with strong and deep roots that can resist more successfully to any pests and deceases.
  
• Clean garden. Keep your garden clean and tidy. Collect fallen leafs and debris; piles of them is a breeding places for pests; prune regularly; remove dead brunches. Check for deceased or week plants; remove them from garden. Never compost plants or leafs that are affected with pests and fungi. If you was working with tools in the affected garden area wash them thoroughly.
  

 Defensive Measures.
If in spite of all your efforts you garden is still under attack from pests (after a heavy and lengthy rain, for example) you still can get rid of them with some simple Grandma methods. Here a few of them:
#1. The classical one: combine chili (or cayenne pepper) with crushed garlic, organic soap flakes few spoons of oil and water; leave overnight; strain; effective against aphids and caterpillars.
#2. Ashes. Put one handful of ashes on the affected plant; effective against everything plus ash is an excellent fertiliser containing potash and most of the trace elements.
#3. Mix two parts of espresso coffee with ten parts of water and sprinkle on the areas of potential slugs and snail attacks.
#4. Dissolve a few spoons of baking soda in water and spray vegetables; it can prevent development of fungi and powdery mildew.
#5. Baby shampoo spray. Mix two tablespoons of baby shampoo with 1 bucket of water and spray affected plants; fight against white flies, aphids, scale and spider mites.
A word of caution: organic sprays work the same as non-organic and will kill or deter a beneficial insect as well, so think twice before applying them. Also, before using any home made concoction try first on a small portion of a plant and check after a few hours that not harm has been done. The best time to spray is early in the morning. Don't apply during a heat wave as you can kill your crop. Also use organic soaps and baby shampoo as non – organics will most likely contain bleach and will be very harmful for your plants.
If you are buying organic pest solutions in the store make sure that it really is organic.


Conclusion.
Organic pest control is great for the environment, for your health and by sticking to its principles you are not fighting with Mother Nature but live in harmony with her. Happy gardening!