Pest-repellent Plants
Nature is filled with "good bugs", crawling and flying creatures whose diet consists mainly of the pests that ravage garden plants. Here is a list of those good bugs and the plants that they like to visit for food and shelter. Intersperse these plants among the "problem pest areas" in your yard. Remember, though: Many chemical sprays work on both bad and good bugs. To keep the good bugs in your yard, eliminate insecticide use in the areas where they live and work.
Pest Repellent Plants – 2nd Edition
Organic solutions to garden and household pests
Penny Woodward ISBN 9781864471182 PB, full-colour, 160 pp
Every gardener knows the havoc insects and other pests can cause in the garden and home. Shop-bought products can control pests but are expensive, wasteful and often highly toxic. By using sprays, oils and powders derived from pest-repellent plants, you can keep garden and household pests at bay. Every plant is shown in full colour, with notes on cultivation and use.
Apart from an A-Z of Pest-repellent Plants, this new edition also includes many other organic solutions, from traps and barriers to sprays, oils, dusting powders and washes made from common household items like milk, coffee and bicarbonate of soda.
Controlling Aphids
The simplest way to get rid of aphids is to blast them off with a strong jet of water. Or just squeeze them off with your fingers. Other “safe” alternatives are home made soap or oil sprays. Soap sprays will kill aphids fairly quickly and can be washed off the plant to reduce the risk of any damage to the plant. This can be repeated every 4-5 days if heavily infested.Soap sprays vary but the simplest recipe is water and 2-3% washing up detergentShop bought “Eco-oil” will smother the aphids so they can’t breath and damage their protective body coverings, this combined with “Eco-neem oil” are great all round coverage for most insects. Both products and other great certified organic alternatives (like Backyard Buddies) can be found through Eco Organic Garden. Visit their website at: www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au
Snails
If overnight newly planted seedlings are disappearing and there are large holes in your plants, the culprits are probably snails or slugs. Usually a close look at the plants will reveal the characteristic silvery trail. They avoid the sun and come out mainly at night or on dark, cloudy days. They secrete mucous to move about and by using the same trail and sharing trails with other snails they save on mucous production. During cold or dry weather, snails can seal their shells, and remain dormant for several years.
Check out this link:
http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/snails-slugs.htm
Suggested Organic Strategies:
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Start with a garden cleanup to reduce snails and slugs breeding sites. Wear thick gloves and gumboots to remove any garden rubbish.
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Handpicking, will over time, greatly reduce the number of snails; it is less effective for slugs. The best time is 2 hours after sunset by torchlight.
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Barriers can be used to protect vulnerable plants and young seedlings. Suitable materials include crushed eggshells, lime, wood ash, wood shavings and sawdust. The best barrier of all is adhesive copper tape, as it works wet or dry.
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Homemade traps such as inverted grapefruit halves, pots or wooden boards can be placed close to where the slugs and snails are harbouring. Check early each morning or they will become habitat instead!
Read More: http://www.greenharvest.com.au/PestControlOrganic/Information/SlugAndSnailControl.html
Cabbage White Butterfly
Attacking cruciferous crops such as cabbages, swedes, turnips and other brassicas, the cabbage white butterfly is an insect to be wary of. The adult butterfly, however, is not directly the problem, but rather the larvae. With powerful mandibles for cutting through leaves, this caterpillar can be devastating to crops.
Parasites
As the government in mid-19th century Australia realised, introducing parasites, such as native parasitic wasps, is a noninvasive method of killing off the white cabbage butterfly. The wasp Apanteles sp. parasitizes the cabbage white caterpillars, laying its eggs inside the caterpillars’ body. The eggs hatch and the wasps’ larvae devour the caterpillar from the inside out. While this method is more suited to the commercial growing of crucifers, it should be considered as it results in little to no damage to the ecology of your garden. Read more...
How to Attract Braconid Wasps
Grow an abundance of flowers and herbs that produce nectar from numerous small florets, such as sweet alyssum, chamomile, feverfew, catnip and buckwheat. When allowed to produce flowers, dill, fennel and other members of the carrot family also attract braconid wasps. One type of braconid that specializes in parasitizing aphids, Aphidium colemani, is available commercially for use in greenhouses. Read more...
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Plant Marigold and Nasturtium with Zucchini, kale and cucumber.
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Plant garlic, chives and cilantro near kale and spinach
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Plant oregano and sage near cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli
Organic Pest Spray In the Garden
Organic pesticide: Garlic Chilli spray
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8-10 chillies finely sliced
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4 cloves garlic crushed and cut roughly
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1 Tablespoon soap flakes
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1 Litre boiling water
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Combine in a glass jar and set aside for 24 hours. Strain and pour into a spray bottle.
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Use within 2 weeks
Ant rid – the organic way
Fill a spray bottle with water and add 10 – 15 drops of peppermint essential oil. Spray the area you don’t want the ants to cross and they won’t. They hate the smell. * Can be harmful to cats
Organic fungicide: Milk Spray
For control of Black spot and powdery mildew
One part full cream milk, to 10 parts water. Spray young growth as it appears at least once every 10 days or weekly if required.
