Most gardeners know the heartbreak that can happen after tending to a plant or crop for months only to find that one day, it's been totally destroyed by pests.
Maybe it's a perfect tomato, plump and almost ripe on the vine, only to be riddled with holes after some critter decided it was the perfect midnight snack.
Pest management is a critical aspect of gardening, as pests can wreak havoc on crops and plants.
Unfortunately, often pesticides are the go-to solution, but their negative impacts on the environment and can be harmful to human health make them something we cannot promote.
The good news is that harmful chemicals aren't your only recourse. This guide is your ally in the organic fight to reclaim your garden.
You’ll learn:
Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, isn't just a strategy; it's a philosophy rooted in balance and observation. It's about making informed decisions, not rash judgments at the sight of a tiny trespasser. Below, we dissect the IPM process into actionable steps
This methodology essentially boils down to observe, research, evaluate, and plan in cases of pests in the garden.
In other words: don’t freak out if you see a bug and get spray-happy.
There is more to it than that, of course.
Delve into the methodology of observe, research, evaluate, and plan for effective pest management.
If you check in with your plants often, chances are you’ll see pests before they cause too many issues and can follow through with the other steps early on.
If you have everything automated in your garden and only go out to harvest, chances are you’ll miss something.
Take some time every day to look over your plants, under leaves, and to watch the general environment.
You might need to check a list of local pests if the bug isn’t familiar to you. Typically by typing in a description of the bug and your general region, you should be able to find out what it is.
Is the bug even a pest? Is it neutral? Is it actually a beneficial insect? These are all good things to establish before you worry about seeing bugs in the garden.
Let’s say it is a pest. Determine how long it lives, if it only eats crops during a certain point of its life, and what the typical damage level is.
For example, I have a lot of spittle bugs in my garden, and while they’re not beneficial, they’re not really a pest either. They can become a problem if there is a total infestation, but rarely will they become so much of an issue that action needs to be taken.
There might not be any damage at all, like in the instance of the spittle bugs in my garden. There might be a little damage, or there might be a substantial amount of nibbling that the pest has done.
This step will usually happen at the same time as step 4 - figure out what the breaking point is for the pest and your crops. It might be when 20% of leaves are eaten, or when 15% of plants are damaged. Integrated pest management gives you, the farmer, the final say in when action is necessary.
If you decide that action is necessary, or will be necessary after a certain threshold is reached, determine what that action is. In that way, you can be certain you have all of the supplies you need (source). For example, if aphids have invaded, your action might be to introduce their natural predators, ladybugs, to the garden.
What’s interesting about IPM is that it’s not necessarily an organic system. It does prevent harmful pesticides from being sprayed by being a decision-making process, but the end result could still be the application of pesticides - organic or not (source).
While IPM is a great system to help reduce pesticide applications, and knowledge is power when it comes to dealing with pests, it doesn’t offer specific solutions to pests when they pass your accepted threshold of damage.
There are a few common organic solutions for pests that home gardeners can apply to crops which I’ll outline further down in the article, but I wanted to first highlight the JADAM pest control system.
JADAM is a method of organic farming based on Korean natural farming. Korean natural farming, or KNF, was brought to the rest of the world by Master Cho. JADAM was developed by Master Cho’s son.
JADAM, meaning 'people that resemble nature,' focuses on two main strategies: adding very low-cost inputs to boost soil health and beneficial bacteria, and using naturally made sprays for pest control. It is organic and no-till (source).
What we value the most about JADAM is that they are on a quest to share methods of pest control that are environmentally safe and non-toxic, and that they pair their systems with ways to improve the health of the soil.
JADAM also creates a system of self-sufficiency and affordability, as all of their products are able to be made by the farmer or gardener at extremely low costs. All of the information presented in their books is also available on their website and/or their youtube channel.
You can make most of their solutions from household ingredients or very inexpensive materials.
The folks at JADAM have a test field where they grow 60 crops yearly in an effort to make sure that their solutions work (source).
An example is the JADAM solution for slugs - first apply diluted soap wetting agent to the affected plants, and then apply a dilution of Jerusalem artichoke tubers and leaves to kill off the slugs (source).
You can watch this solution being made in this video:
Hear from Mr. Cho himself (well, his son speaks the audio on the video) about some of their herbal “pesticides” here:
Here we outline some non-toxic and eco-friendly solutions for pest control that are safe for the environment and human health, and reduce the use of harmful pesticides.
Soap spray is an effective way to control soft-bodied small pests such as aphids, thrips, spider mites, and whiteflies. The soap works by breaking down the pest's outer layer, causing it to dehydrate and die.
Since most pollinators and beneficial insects don’t fall into the soft-bodied category, diluted soap doesn’t harm the bugs you want to encourage in your garden.
The diluted soap will need to coat the insect’s body, so you will need to see the pest and spray it directly.
However, too much soap can harm plants, so it's important to use the right concentration. The University of Minnesota Extension recommends 2 teaspoons of dish soap to 1 pint of water, but I have had success with 1 teaspoon of dish soap to 1 gallon of water.
It’s also recommended to spray plants in the early morning or evening on days where the maximum temperature won’t reach 90 degrees F. This will help to prevent damage to the leaves of the plant (source).
Soap Spray:
Neem oil is a natural insecticide due to its chemical makeup which includes Azadirachtin, which causes the targeted pests to die. Neem oil can be broken down by microbes and light, and has a quick half life on leaves (source).
Neem oil, like soap spray, needs to be applied directly to the pest in order to be effective. According to the New Mexico State University, this product is effective against thrips, leafminers, aphids, scales, caterpillars (such as those of cabbage moths and cabbage butterflies), beetle larvae (source).
It is recommended to spray neem oil when pollinators are not present, such as late evening, and to not spray it on flowers (source).
Follow the instructions on the neem oil product that you purchase if you choose to use it on your crops. Be sure to dilute the neem oil as directed if necessary, and do not spray it on parts of plants that you will be eating.
Neem Oil:
Trap crops are plants that are used to attract pests away from the main crop. There are several strategies that you can implement with trap cropping. This is a great regenerative gardening technique because it keeps the soil planted, enhances biodiversity in th garden, and is quite passive.
All trap crops should be established before you start seeds for the crops you want to protect.
One method against spotted cucumber beetles, striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs and squash vine borers is outlined by the University of Missouri. These bugs prefer Blue Hubbard Squash, so they planted this plant around the perimeter of their desired squash crop.
The technique involves starting the Blue Hubbard Squash before your desired crop. You can figure out when the squash and cucumber pests are active by placing the tray of the young Blue Hubbard seedlings outside in the location where you plan on planting them. When you start to see activity on the seedlings, you know it is time to transplant them out around the perimeter of your plot.
It’s recommended to then direct sow your squash or cucumber crop. The Blue Hubbard plants will continue to attract the bugs and you can control them in those specific spots.
They recommend 8 Blue Hubbard Squash plants for every 100 of your desired cucurbit plants that you wish to harvest from (source).
Other examples of trap crops are:
(source).
In my own experience, I’ve noticed slugs gravitating towards daikon radish leaves and preferring that over salad greens and my other brassica crops.
Trap Crops:
Row covers are a physical barrier that can protect plants from pests such as squash bugs, cucumber beetles, cabbage moths, and flying insects. We secure our row covers with bricks around the edge to minimize where persistent pests can get in.
I’ve personally used row covers with great success to protect brassicas from cabbage moths. Row covers also keep strawberries and other soft fruits protected from birds. The key here is to place the row cover over the fruit plants just before the fruit ripens, so the all pollination is complete.
Row Covers:
Companion planting involves planting certain plants together to attract beneficial insects. While trap cropping deters pests from your harvestable crops, companion planting attracts helpful insects that feed on the pests in your garden.
In most cases, beneficial insects won’t harm your plants and will just focus on eating other bugs and insects.
If you have aphids, scale bugs, or mites, attract ladybugs with dill, coriander, alyssum, sunflower and yarrow (source). I also frequently spot ladybugs on Queen Anne’s Lace and carrot flowers.
If you have aphids, caterpillars, mealy bugs, insect eggs, or mites attract lacewings with dill, angelica, caraway, coriander, cosmos, fennel, and dandelion (source).
If you have aphids, caterpillars, thrips and other small insects, attract hoverflies to your garden with Queen Anne’s Lace, carrot flowers, sweet alyssum, wild mustard, coriander, and dill (source.
If you have slugs, asparagus beetles, caterpillars, Colorado potato beetles, corn earworms, cutworms, squash vine borers or tobacco budworms, attract ground beetles to your garden with clover, amaranth, and rotting logs (source). It’s also recommended to create a “beetle bank” by hilling up soil to make a small berm and then planting native bunch grasses, such as sedge grass in the soil. The elevated berm will keep the area dry and the native grasses will attract the ground beetles (source).
Companion Planting:
Beneficial nematodes are microscopic worms that can control pests, with certain nematodes specializing in certain pests. They work by entering the pest's body and releasing a bacteria that kills it.
Examples of pests that can be controled with nematodes are: cucumber beetles, cutworms, flea beetles, fungus gnats, grubs, Japanese Beetles, leaf miners, onion maggots, root aphids, root weevils, squash vine borers, sweet potato weevils, thrips, and more (source).
If you live in the UK, you can also obtain beneficial nematodes that attack slugs. In the United States, these nematodes are not available as they harm other native slugs too.
Beneficial Nematodes:
Cucumber beetles can be controlled with Blue Hubbard Squash trap crops and row covers.
For leaf miners, mix beneficial nematodes with water according to package instructions and apply to affected soil areas.
Aphids can be controlled with soap spray and companion planting. Soap spray is an effective way to control soft-bodied small pests such as aphids. Ladybugs feed on aphids and can be attracted with dill, coriander, alyssum, sunflower, yarrow, Queen Anne’s Lace, and carrot flowers. With aphids, place a yellow sticky trap near infested plants to monitor the population while your ladybug allies get to work.
Cabbage moths can be controlled with companion planting. Lacewings feed on caterpillars, such as those of cabbage moths and cabbage butterflies, and can be attracted with dill, angelica, caraway, coriander, cosmos, fennel, and dandelion.
Slugs can be controlled with trap crops and companion planting. An example of trap crops is daikon radish leaves. Ground beetles feed on slugs and can be attracted with clover, amaranth, rotting logs, and sedge grass.
Thrips can be controlled with soap spray and companion planting. Soap spray is an effective way to control soft-bodied small pests such as thrips. Hoverflies feed on thrips and can be attracted with Queen Anne’s Lace, carrot flowers, sweet alyssum, wild mustard, coriander, and dill.
Squash vine borers can be controlled with Blue Hubbard Squash trap crops and beneficial nematodes. Beneficial nematodes can control squash vine borers.
While pests can cause heartbreak in the garden, there are many eco-friendly solutions available to help manage them in your regenerative garden.
Above all, knowledge is key - it’s important to research what pest is damaging your crops and to understand the full spectrum of what attracts them and what can deter them.
Eco-friendly solutions such as the JADAM pest control system, soap spray, and companion planting can all help to reduce the use of harmful pesticides. By using these methods, we can ensure our gardens remain healthy and safe for both the environment and ourselves.
Now that you're armed with nature's best pest-fighting secrets, it's time to turn the tide in your garden’s favor. Implement these organic strategies, and watch as your green sanctuary flourishes, resilient and vibrant.
