Preventing Pests

So you’re starting a garden in your backyard, that’s great! When growing your own plants and veggies, you need to be careful about bringing pests into your garden. They may eat all your vegetables or even kill the plant.

Lady Bugs will devour aphids (one of the most notorious pests)! Consider growing plants that attract ladybugs like cilantro.

Environmental-Friendly Ways to Stop Pests!

  1. Grow pest-resistant crops

    1. This is the first easy step to healthy plants. When looking for seeds at your local store, keep an eye out for varieties that are already resistant to bugs. 

2. Make sure your plants have the right conditions

  • Having a healthy plant means that it will be more resistant to pests. Are you making sure they have enough sunlight? Are there enough nutrients and water in the soil? Is there enough space for its roots to grow?

3. Block the bugs

  • There are a variety of ways to physically block pests from getting to your vegetables. One way to do that is to grow them in planters. These raise up the soil and it makes it harder for bugs to climb onto your plants. Another way is to enclose the space they are growing in. You can put a net over them to stop flying pests from eating your plants or build a greenhouse to put them in. 

4. Promote native biodiversity

  • Bugs that are native to your area can help eat up the pests and protect your plants. You can do this by attracting them with flowers native to your area. This brings wildlife such as birds and ladybugs to your area, helping you keep your garden safe. 

References: Unsplash, TenthAcreFarm, GrowVeg