Organic Gardening. I have bugs eating the plants in my garden.?
Image by Lafayette College
Cliff Reiter, math professor, left, and his wife Marilyn work at Lafayette’s organic garden near Metzgar Fields on Sullivan Trail in Forks Township.
Question by Nicole R: Organic Gardening. I have bugs eating the plants in my garden.?
What can I use that is not a chemical? I would like something natural. Thanks.
Feel free to answer in the comment section below
7 Responses to Organic Gardening. I have bugs eating the plants in my garden.?
Leave a Reply
The old story of organic gardening is that people would dust there plants with a light coat of kitchen flour. The bugs eat it and it gums up the inside when they try to eat it.
Also it depends on what you are trying to get the bugs away from. If it is not something you plan on eating, people spray there plants with water, doused with a touch of Ivory dish soap to get rid of the bugs.
I hope this helps.
windgate
January 5, 2012 at 4:12 pm
There is nothing that will be 100% effective, however you can get good results using DE which is Diatemaceous Earth (spelling is probably off), you can purchase this at any pool supply store, it is used primarily in swimming pool filters, it is 100% organic (ground up sea shells and fossils), sprinkle this liberally all over the garden, it can land on the plants and cause no harm. This will eliminate bugs with an ecto skeleton, for other bugs, use a bottle sprayer filled with water and 2 or 3 teaspoons of dawn dish detergent, and finally plant Marigolds around the border of your garden it is a bug repellant, and it also attracts Lady Bugs which will take care of any aphid problems. Do not spray the Lady Bugs with the soap, you want all of them you can get.
canuck1950
January 5, 2012 at 4:23 pm
It would depend on the type of insects. However, there are a number of natural ways to control a wide array of pests that are easy to apply.
If squirrels or other rodents are eating your plants, sprinkle them with cayenne pepper or spray the plants with a water and cayenne pepper solution. For small insects, spray the leaves of your plants with a mixture of 1 part dishwashing detergent to 10 parts water. It will not harm your plants; in fact, they will thank you for it! Garlic is also another repellent for many insects; you could spray a mixture containing garlic oil or have some garlic present in your garden.
This is a great site for preventing bugs in your garden in the first place: http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-prevent-garden-pests-and-diseases.htm. You can also incorporate plants in your garden that attract beneficial insect (they will eat up the harmful ones).
Good luck!
Sarita
January 5, 2012 at 4:35 pm
a couple of tablespoons of dish soap & water sprayed on plants should take care of aphids. if you have cabbage crumble egg shells around the base of the plants the cabbage worms can’t crawl accross the sharp jagged egg shells. mother earth magazine is a good source for organic , green info. and alternative energy
http://www.motherearthnews.com
Pam superwench17
January 5, 2012 at 4:41 pm
-The first thing you can do as you plant a garden is to include flowers and herbs that repel insects, such as marigolds, garlic, sage, thyme or rosemary.
-Try kaolin clay. Mix one quart of the clay with one tablespoon of liquid soap and two gallons of water. Spray your plants with this mixture. You can find kaolin clay at stores that sell organic products, or from suppliers of pottery clay. Note: While it is quite effective, this method does leave a thin film on your plants, which is fine for a vegetable garden. If the plants are for purely aesthetic appeal, try the next method.
-Mix dry granulated garlic into the soil around the plants. You can also spray them with a garlic product, available at garden centers that sell organic products.
J
January 5, 2012 at 4:50 pm
Boil together two hot chillies and four cloves of garlic whole unpeeled in 2 cups water. Simmer 20 minutes.Cool. Strain then pour into a spray bottle. Add a few drops of liquid detergent (to help it stick to the plant) and off you go. It’ll kill most plants.
Artemis Z
January 5, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Put cheyenne pepper seeds around your plants,it keeps bugs,insects and rodents out!*
shimmitail1
January 5, 2012 at 5:53 pm