Potato Bug Organic

Organic Gardening–Nipping Garden Pests In The Bud, Naturally

Garden pests are a constant problem. Everything that moves outdoors is famished in the spring. That includes aphids, cutworms, caterpillars, grasshoppers, squash bugs, whiteflies, potato bugs, slugs, mealy bugs, ticks, moths, and even rabbits and deer. So how can you protect your garden so that you can get enjoy the fruits of your labors without spreading destructive chemicals everywhere?

Here are a few ways:

Turn the soil over. Let it rest for 2 weeks before cultivating and planting. Turning the soil over exposes cutworm larvae so you can feed the birds and cut back on the cutworm population. Turning the soil also places sprouting weeks under the ground so they die a natural death.

Remove old mulch. Cutworms adore old mulch. Scraping it away will also empty the larder and send them looking elsewhere for dinner.

Buy some ladybugs. They love aphids! So do lacewings. Wasps and bees pollinate the plants.

Use homemade remedies for pest control.

• Recipe 1: 1½ cups [12 oz.] of water + 4 drops of Ivory dishwashing liquid + a dash of cayenne sauce + a clove garlic, crushed. Mix this together and strain before putting it in a clean water bottle.

• Recipe 2: Mix powdered milk with water according to package directions. Now that’s easy!

Use either of these to spray your plants. When they dry, your pests will disappear.

Plant flowers.

• Flowers pests hate. Marigolds smell like skunk cabbage to deer, birds, and many insects. Circle your garden with dis-tasteful beauty and you’ll discourage four-legged pests as well as the six-legged variety.

• Flowers ladybugs and lacewings love. Yarrow and Golden Marguerite (yellow daisy) are wonderful for these friendly insects.

Ignore a patch of weeds. Lure weed-loving pests away from your veggies. Give them what they love best and they won’t be as likely to feast on food meant for your table.

can somebody help me with my first garden?

i want to make it organic and it’s gonna be some fruit and lots of veggies. so far to plant i have started in little pod things carrots, and i have asparagus, potatoes, onions, corn, and lettuce. if i’m in upstate ny near albany when should i put them in the ground? how do i keep the bugs away or wild animals (we have lots of bunny around us) how much room should i give myself to plant all this? how often do i water them? how much sun? does anyone have any sites that would help me? thanks!
i want to get some berries to plant too. like strawberries and blue berries oh and blackberries.

The best way to start is to figure out how much area you have to plant a garden, then figure out how lmany plants that you want to grow in that area. I have a garden that is 25X30 feet and can grow about 100 different large plants (tomatoes, peppers). I have one area that I plant onions in that is about 4 X 3 and I get 100 or so onions. I draw my garden on paper and divide it up into rows determined by the spacing needed between plants and walkways between.

It’s best to have the area tilled or turn it over by hand to loosen up the soil as a first step. Have the soil checked for nutrients (many garden centers will do this or sell a kit). Incorporate the ingredients that you are lacking into the soil and prepare to spend some time in the sun!

Most berry plants will not produce much fruit in the first year, so you may have to wait for a year or two to harvest fruit from plants planted this year.

Here’s a link to Cornell’s website, lots of good info.

Dealing with Common Garden Pests: Cabbage worms and Potato bugs

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Rose & Flower Insect 32 Oz Rtu $5.99 Garden pest control specially formulated for house plants, roses and flowers. Kills beetles, caterpillars, aphids and other listed insects….