What is Organic Garden Pest Control by Gordie Guide

I'm a self-admitted lover of nature and natural gardening. When I was a boy I remember working inmy Grandpa's garden. He used to call me 'Gordie The Apprentice'. Back then, before gardening waseven called organic (it just was organic!), we were controlling pests the natural way.

I was impressed by how the art and science of gardening was perfectly coordinated and balanced.And as I play in my garden today, I can still hear my Grandpa's wisdom come through my owngardening practices.

It is heartening to know that traditional organic gardening practices are 'in' again. And it's abouttime. I want to introduce you to some time-tested ideas for your own organic gardening enjoyment.

Pest Prevention

When looking at pest control for your organic garden, there are a variety of things to consider. Thefirst thing to remember is that prevention is your first line of defense. Plants that are strong andhealthy, grown in healthy soil, and given all they need to thrive are much less likely to submit to aninsect attack.

Beneficial Predators

However, if you find your garden already infested, identifying the insects that are chomping on yourprized broccoli, for example, is a crucial step. You may, in fact, have beneficial bugs such asLadybugs, Praying Mantises, or Dragonflies that are preying on the bad boys. You definitely want toattract these bugs into your garden. Keep them content and they will stay there and work to keepthe holes out of your savoy cabbage.

Companion Planting

Planting complementary varieties near each other can make each plant stronger. Also, certain plantsmells will confuse the insects, and effectively control damage passively. For instance, if an insect issniffing out your carrots, planting Dill weed amongst them will likely have the pest pass right bytheir favorite lunch. Garlic is a well known companion plant as well, fooling the 'sniffers' of manyinsects.

Non-Toxic Repellents

There is also a myriad of spray-on mixtures and insecticidal soaps that you can either purchase ormake up fairly easily yourself. These usually consist of a little natural detergent, some oil forstickiness, and a camouflaging smell such as Garlic, Cayenne Pepper, Oil of Peppermint, amongmany others. These types of repellents need to be re-applied initially after both rain and dew. Oncethe infestation is under control, the application many be reduced somewhat.

This is just a taste of the vast subject of organic pest control. Just know that you have an arsenal ofnatural weapons at your disposal to safely deter any pests in your garden. Happy gardening!