There are a few things inevitable in life, Births, Deaths, Marriages, Tax and having some darn pests invade your vegie garden is just another to the list. But we still give thanks for Life and the goodness within. As some of the aforementioned can be bad, pests in the garden IS actually a good thing. But the key is about balance. Let me explain why pests are good and not bad like we have been taught.
Veggie gardens are a haven for all kinds of pests, some good some bad. We are not the only living creatures that eat plants. I get asked so often about how to stop pestie snails and slaters or what are these little white moths on my Brassicas, what’s eating my plants?? So, I thought I would put together some of my favourite natural pest remedies in one list. Best thing is you do not need to do anything, spend anything, go anywhere or make anything. Nothing…Seriously…Here’s a long time secret big chemical companies don’t want you to know…But first, some context.
Having pests chew on your garden is not a bad thing at all, unless the balance is out, and I will explain about that shortly. If your garden is not under attack of some sort or has no holes, blemishes and bites, disease etc. Then I’m afraid your garden might not actually be a part of the Ecosystem. Inorganic or commercial spray gardens that are glossy magazine ready and perfect in appearance, begs the question, what are we looking for in a perfect garden. What makes a great successful garden? What is yield? Is it about commercial or large crop growing for profit or abundance or is it about a holistic, healthy, spiritual, natural growing way of life designed for the betterment of our bodies, minds and people? Now THAT’S A YEILD! TV shows, and glossy garden mags, married with commercial gardening and gimmick garden products/mentality, convenience and training, the pursuit of perfection in our gardens in terms of aesthetics, all have made a mess of proper gardening and real gardens. Fact of the matter is, if insects and other life is not eating your garden, you probably shouldn’t be too. My garden is always full of pests and diseases. However, I always monitor the situation. If you find yourself under attack, don’t reach for the spray bottles or traps. Let Her Majesty Blessed Mumma Earth do what she does best, and what she built is PERFECT in HER imperfections. Common things I hear are:
“My seedlings were being eaten by slaters, so I sprayed them”.
No need, just raise the seedlings off the ground, up high. Slaters are decomposers so we want them around. But there are Frogs and Birds that love them.
“Cabbage Moth and Caterpillar’s are devouring my Broccoli, so I sprayed them”.
No need, just come out and hand pick them off as best you can. Spiders, Lacewings, Praying Mantises love to hunt these, but again, we want them around.
“Dang pestie Aphids are all over my Bok Choy, so I sprayed them”.
No need, rub them off with your hands and a cloth. Don’t spray them off as they will just be relocated. Ladybugs, both adult and larvae will eat up most soft body insects. Adult Ladybugs can eat over 5000 Aphids within its life cycle. And as you may have thought, we want them around also.
“I have scale and thrip issues on my Chillies, so I sprayed them”. No need, wipe away and crush the scale. Hoverflies will soon come and devour them up along with the Thrip.
You see didn’t cost a thing. Sufficient and efficient! What we should be doing is unlearning what we have been taught previously about insects, undo chemical use/reliance and overstand that we need the bad insects to bring in the good Predatory Insects. Not only do these awesome insects help mitigate and hold Balance against their rivals, but they also pollinate for us too seen? And let’s not forget our other back up team, beneficial parasites like Parasitoid wasps. These tiny wasps find the Aphids and lay their eggs inside anything with soft flesh. The emerging wasp eats as it grows, the whole Host of it. Predatory Mites like to do battle with other mites, like Spider Mites.
But, if you feel you need a spray, or if in fact the balance is out and you need immediate help whilst you wait for the back up to arrive, try something that is not harsh, so we don’t hurt our garden warriors, or as least as possible.
*The list below is non-discriminatory so both beneficial and non-beneficial life will be affected so think wisely before spraying.
Garlic spray – There are so many recipes for garlic spray out there on the net, I even supply one in my vegetable garden care guide, that you can easily make this yourself, or you can buy it from your garden shop, just ensure it is certified organic. Strong garlic smell deters almost any pests from aphids to snails.
When sprayed on vegetables it masks the smells of the veggies they want to eat and insects with soft bodies will be killed by the spray. Mince up some organic garlic in some water until mashed up. Add a teaspoon of organic dish washing liquid and top up with more water, leave overnight. Spray both sides of the leave too. Stop after two weekly applications. Repeat after another two weeks in needed.
Egg shells & coffee grounds – If you like your coffee and eggs then you are in luck. When the rain comes and the snails are out in force, collect up your coffee grounds or from coffee shops or friends and keep your eggshells and spread them through your garden beds to deter them attacking your lovely green leafy veggies. Oven bake the shells and crush them up.
On top of that coffee grounds are high in nitrogen and pH neutral while eggshells are high in calcium making them great fertiliser for your garden soil.
Beer traps – Grab an old beer, tip some into a small cup or container and bury in your garden until the lip is just above the surface. Snails and slugs love it and will prefer the yeast over your veggies.
Bigger pests – Most of us have one or more of these, dogs, chickens, ducks, rabbits – they all love to get dirty and generally love your vegie garden. There is not much you can do but place a fence or border around your garden. Maybe give them a spray of the hose, kids included too 😊
Fruit fly traps – I strongly DO NOT RECOMMEND THESE, not only do fruit fly get stuck, but anything including beneficials do too.Overstanding that an imperfect garden is in fact the perfect garden, as Blessed Mumma Earth intended it to be, you will find more life and joy, not to mention food to eat, more peace and harmony, balance and bliss. Sounds perfect to me.
Ras Mark Petruzio
SUBURBAN FARMER