Mother Earth's Garden

You don’t have to use chemical sprays and dusts to keep the pests out of your garden. Here are some companion herbs you can plant with your vegetables to help repel pests naturally:

Catnip~ Repels Japanese beetles, squash bugs, aphids, and ants (sorry, not responsible for what it does to your cats)
Borage~ Repels many worms including tomato horn worms and cabbage worms, so get some borage cozy with your tomatoes
Pennyroyal~ Deters fleas (don’t use on cats it can be toxic if they lick their fur)
Cilantro~ Aphids and spider mites
Basil~ Repels flies and mosquitoes
Lavender~ Repels fleas
Oregano~ Cucumber beetles and aphids

So instead of …read more

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Epsom Salt is a low cost, naturally occurring remedy for your garden. It helps deter many garden pests, and helps your plants flourish and grow.
Check out some of the things it can do for your garden according to the Epsom Salt Council:
Research indicates Epsom Salt:

Helps seeds germinate.
Makes plants grow bushier.
Produces more flowers.
Increases chlorophyll production.
Improves phosphorus and nitrogen uptake.
Deters pests, including slugs and voles.

The Council also provides some great tips for helping you apply Epsom Salt to your garden, or potted plants in the proper amounts:
Tips for your plants and garden using Epsom Salt:
· Houseplants: …read more

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I recently had the opportunity to try out a new mosquito repellent called the Don’t Bite Me(tm) mosquito patch. I decided to give it a try, since I’m always on the look out for a good mosquito repellent without DEET.
The patch seemed to be effective in repelling mosquitos, but right around the time I received the patches our mosquito population dried up with our rainfall totals. We’ve had a very dry July and August, with almost no rainfall. Which also means almost no mosquitos.
My son attracts mosquitos for miles, even when I have none bothering me, he …read more

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  Japanese beetles are a huge problem in almost any garden East of the Mississippi these days, so I thought I’d round up a couple control methods. Then I’m going to turn it over to you. What methods help you control your Japanese beetle populations? I’m definitely not a pro on the subject, and I’d love to hear what others have to say about these horrible pests.
A hoard of Japanese beetles can move in and destroy plants in a matter of hours, and leave behind leaf skeletons where healthy plants were.
Japanese beetles are almost impossible to get rid …read more

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It’s getting very buggy outside, especially in and around my flower garden. I think all the extra rain we’ve had has made a wonderful breeding ground for mosquitos and other bugs this year.
I’m allergic to the scents in many of the commercial insect repellents out there. Most of them throw me into a sneezing fit, and eventually give me a major headache if I don’t wash them off or get away from the smell. I can use one or two of the unscented varieties, but I’d rather avoid them all together when I can.
Here’s my favorite homemade …read more

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This time of year tomato leaves and stems start disappearing mysteriously. This disappearance can often be traced to the tomato hornworm.
Hornworms can cause massive damage to your tomato crop in a short time. They’re called “hornworms” because of the “horn” sticking up on their rear end. They not only chew the leaves and stems of your tomato plants, but they will also bite large wholes in the tomatoes themselves.
The best method for controlling hornworms is to hand pick them off, and step on them. Their “horn” is not really dangerous. If you’re squeamish about grabbing the worms, just …read more

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We have a huge resource of pest control information here at Mother Earth’s Garden. Since the original posts are scattered, I thought I’d do a round-up to put the information all in one place.
In Companion Planting 101 I gave you the basics for planting your garden to discourage pests, and camouflage the scent of the plants pests like to go after.
5 Natural Alternatives for Controlling Pests has several natural ways control the bugs in your garden.
Controlling Ants Naturally lists several methods to control your summer ant population.
Ladybugs are great in the garden, but not so …read more

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Companion planting is based on the idea that some plants grow better when they’re planted together. One plant has something the other one needs, or one plant helps camouflage the other plant from pests.
There have been entire books written on the subject of companion planting, and I just may write a review or two of some of my favorite resources in the upcoming days. In the mean time here are some of my favorite companion planting ideas.
One of my favorites comes from the Iroquois Indians and it’s called The Three Sisters. The Three Sisters are corn, beans, …read more

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It’s easy to get the spray bottle out and blast your plants with insecticide to get rid of garden pests. The only problem is you have to eat those fruits and vegetables. You also want the bees and butterflies to pollinate your garden without dying.
Here are 5 ways to remove garden pests naturally. I’m not saying any of these methods are easy, but they do work.
1. Encourage beneficial insects, birds, and toads to visit your garden.
2. Hand pick bugs and drop them in soapy water.
3. Blast aphids and small bugs with a stream of plain, or …read more

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This little baby bunny looked so innocent by my garden the other night, but I know he’s not so innocent. He’s going to grow up and eat my green beans! But he does look sweet right now. I’ve never had a major problem with the rabbits in my garden. Some years they do nibble a few things.
Do you have a problem with rabbits in your garden? I’ve thought about a small fence to keep the dogs, cats, rabbits, and occasional groundhog out of the garden. I’m just not sure it’s worth the trouble.
Baby Bunny Image (c) Linette
Technorati …read more

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