|
Organic Pest Control In the non organic garden and farm the use of chemical pesticides has probably caused more controversy than any other subject. Rachel Carson's famous book "The Silent Spring" published in 1962 was the first major work to highlight the problems of wide spread pesticide use ,particularly DDT.The resulting discussions caused by her book led to the eventual banning of its use in most countries. Most(but not all)scientist agree that the use of pesticides, particularly on food crops,can have a detrimental effect on the health of humans and the environment as a whole. In this section I want to talk about the organic way of dealing with some of the most common garden pests affecting your organic vegetables . 1-Slugs and Snails In the UK after the sort of wet summer we've had this year these two pests must be the number one enemy of our organic vegetables. First the bad news--your'e never going to eradicate these pests completely,but with a bit of care you can minimise the problem. Slugs and snails feed on decaying vegetation and young shoots so one of the first things you can do is to make sure any dead or decaying leaves are put on the compost bin and any tender plants and seedlings are given extra protection.The tidier your vegetable plot is the less slugs you will get.Remove any bits of wood ,flat stones,old plant pots and seed trays and you are removing potential safe day time havens for the slugs and snails.They are nocturnal creatures so need somewhere dark and damp to go during the day so remove as many potential hiding places as you can. Barriers Slugs don't like to slide over prickly things so a barrier of crushed eggshells,sharp The metal copper seems to give slugs and snails a small electric shock so they do not like to cross over it and there are lots of different kinds available Slug repeller / deterrent copper tape barrier Traps Slugs and snails can be attracted to traps where they can die happy!! Saucers or yoghurt pots sunk into the ground and filled with beer will attract them.They climb in get drunk and drown.All you have to do is empty the pot every few days onto th compost heap.The only problem with open traps is that beneficial insects like ground beatles can fall in and drown.There are several clever traps with built in lids that prevent. Natural Predators. Slugs and snails are eaten by hedgehogs ,birds ,frogs and toads so anything that encourages these creatures into your garden should help in your battle against slugs and snails in your organic vegetable plot.A small patch of "wild" garden with long grass and over grown bushes and a small pond all help to encourage natural predators Nematodes Nematodes are small worm like parasites which live in soil and certain types feed on slugs and snails.Scientist have isolated these specific nematodes and its now possible to buy these. 2 Greenfly and Blackfly These tiny flies ,also known as aphids,attack the juicy stems and leaves of plants in the spring and summer |
|
sand,grit,or even hair clippings all act as a deterant so spread some or all of these things round the base of vunerable plants.
is a very effective way of protecting vunerable plants.