Keeping your garden free of pests is essential for a healthy and beautiful garden. Unfortunately, pests can be difficult to identify and remove. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to reduce the risk of pests invading and damaging your garden. Read on to find out how.
Companion Planting
Planting certain plants together can help repel pests. For example, marigolds are known to repel aphids and other pests, while basil can help deter tomato hornworms. Other plants, like garlic and chives, can help repel a variety of insects. Lemongrass, chrysanthemums, mint, and rosemary are also known to repel pests, so include these throughout your garden beds.
Confuse Pests
Interplanting crops with one another will confuse passing pests, and they will find it harder to make themselves at home on their preferred crop. Interplant different vegetables or mix up vegetables with flowers to create a more diverse, and confusing, planting scheme. The bonus to including flowers throughout your crop is that you will naturally attract more bees and other beneficial insects to boost pollination and biodiversity.
Plant Outside of Peak Times
Adjust your planting times to avoid peak pest times is another simple strategy. Pests have life cycles per heat, water, light, humidity. Also, they only like certain parts of your plants, be it the leaves, or the flowers. If you have no crop for them at their time, or no part of the plant they prefer, you will have a pest-free garden.
Use Physical Barriers
Make use of barriers to physically separate pests from plants. You can use things such as mesh, netting or horticultural fleece, these will stop just about any pest from getting near your crops. Allow covers to rest on the plants or use support structures. Make sure you secure them around the edges so bugs can’t gain access at soil level.
Keep Plants and Soil Healthy
Finally, to keep pests away, make sure your plants and the soil they are in are as healthy as they can be. Strong, healthy plants are much less susceptible to pests. So, grow plants in the right conditions, keep them well fed and hydrated in dry weather. Don’t forget to feed the soil with high quality organic matter such as mulch. This will promote a thriving root system that supports healthy growth above the ground.
Keeping pests out of your garden is important for a number of reasons. Not only can they damage the plants, but they can also endanger the health and safety of people who come in contact with them. Pests can spread diseases, contaminate food, and cause allergic reactions in some individuals. Additionally, having an infestation of pests can make growing certain plants impossible as these critters damage the soil and plant life. Taking measures now to ensure that your garden remains pest-free will result in a thriving, beautiful, and healthy garden for the long term.
Mornington Garden Supplies – Just a Phone Call Away
If you need sand, soil, mulch, earthmoving, and drainage services or even Bobcat hire, Dromana, Red Hill, Rosebud, and Mount Martha are just some of our local service areas. Bittern Garden Supplies can help with affordable prices and efficient delivery for all your landscaping needs. Get in touch by calling 5983 9779 or contact us online now.
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