Pest Control for the Vegetable Garden

Pest Control for the Vegetable Garden

Article by Karen Gross

One of the biggest challenges for vegetable gardeners is pest control. Anyone who has tried to keep a determined deer from eating the sweet corn knows how difficult it can be to deter animals, including insects, birds, rabbits and other wildlife from what, for them is a natural smorgasbord. From their perspective, there sit these wonderful veggies, all neat and weeded, almost as if you placed the plants there just for them. And so animals that we might otherwise enjoy can become a nuisance when it comes to the garden.While avoiding wildlife is nearly impossible, chemical pesticides are often an effective means of deterring unwanted insects. However, many gardeners are uncomfortable using these harsh chemicals that can leak into water supplies and harm the environment. They also have concerns about using chemicals in the foods they feed their families. Here are some ideas for more organic pest control.Crop RotationPracticing crop rotation every year in your vegetable garden and using companion plants will improve your soil and keep the pests under control. Most insects need time to become established in the soil. They may take two to three seasons to get their life cycle established. By practicing vegetable rotation and varying the type of plants grown in a particular area from year to year, you can avoid establishing plant specific types of garden pests. Companion PlantingCertain varieties of garden plants are less attractive to pests. To deter rabbits, plant green onions amongst the lettuce plants. Plant several radish seeds in each hill of cucumber seeds to protect against the cucumber beetle. And when planted near each other, cucumbers will prevent raccoons from eating all the sweet corn, while the corn will reciprocate by preventing cucumber wilt.Tomatoes like to be near chives, parsley, marigolds, garlic bulbs, nasturtiums, gooseberries, asparagus, and carrots. Tomatoes have a natural defense for pest control against the asparagus beetle and are also effective in keeping insects away from gooseberries. Carrots on the other hand are nearly every garden pest