It seems like such an easy solution. When you see pests on one of your favourite garden plants, just grab a bottle of chemical spray and zap them. In truth, it isn’t that easy. First of all, chemical sprays don’t always work. And even if they work once, it doesn’t mean they’ll work the next time. It’s been proven that pests can develop immunities to chemicals, so next time you might have to buy a stronger spray.

Secondly, do you really want to put dangerous chemicals on your plants, plants that you depend upon for food? Most of the sprays that people use on their garden aren’t even intended for use on food; they’re intended for lawn use, and lawn chemicals are free of the restrictions placed on sprays meant for use on food crops. And chemical pesticides have been linked to Parkinson’s disease, cancer, infertility, birth defects, encephalitis, lymphoma and other serious conditions.

Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to minimise or eliminate the impact of garden pests without picking up a spray bottle.

Planning the Garden

It all starts at the planning stage for your garden. Companion planting, planting plants together that benefit or enhance each other, can aid in pest control. For example, garlic has been documented to repel a wide variety of garden pests, and fungi. You can plant garlic next to plants susceptible to pests or you can plant a perimeter of garlic around the whole garden. Marigolds have been proven to repel harmful nematodes, and many gardeners claim marigolds repel other pests as well. A related concept is to scatter your plants out; for example, rather than planting a dense row of broccoli plants, you plant individual broccoli plants throughout the garden, which makes it tougher for pests to migrate from one plant to another. Also, if you plant stuff early, you plants become much stronger and pest resistant, before bugs or pests become a major problem.

Keep Your Plants Healthy and Your Garden Clean

Healthy plants are obviously more resistant to pests. Don’t let your plants become stressed, by lack of nutrients, or by too much heat or cold. Dying leaves rob a plant of energy, so keep your plants pruned. Weeds and plant debris can spread disease and pests, so keep your garden clean. Sawdust, woodchips and rotten wood can harbor ants, which can spread aphids through your garden.

Encourage Beneficial Insects

Other Steps

You can also spray with any of several organically based pest sprays, which are now readily available in most garden centres. Many of these are biodegradable, and most are a lot safer for humans than synthetic sprays.

(This is an article from within the first edition of the Backyard Farming Magazine. The complete magazine is available as an electronic download by clicking here.)