Organic Pest Control for Garden Vegetables using Natural Checks and Balances

Reader Contribution by David Goodman
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No person lives in a vacuum — and neither do plants. Even in a total monoculture, you’ll find occasional weeds, plus fungi, bacteria, yeasts, and other soil life. Modern factory farming does a good job of killing almost everything but the target crop (which, in the case of genetically modified plants and pesticide-laden produce, may then turn around and kill their consumers) but it’s still not able to make things totally sterile. That’s the way things are supposed to be: Wild. Abundant. Intermixed. Layered with all the amazing bits and pieces of Creation into a living web of life. Here are my five easy garden pest control practices use nature’s checks as organic pest control for garden vegetables.

Many people have seen my gardens and said, “Whoa, you don’t have any pests, do you?” I hate to disabuse them of that pleasant notion, but I do indeed have pests. I just don’t have nearly as many as a lot of other local gardeners. I have a few explanations for that.

Employ Beneficial Insects for Pest Control

I don’t spray for pests. I don’t use anything, not even garlic, cayenne, diatomaceous earth, or other tried-and-true organic methods. Why? Because I don’t want to discourage helper species like ladybugs, toads, frogs, wasps, lizards, lacewings, predatory beetles, parasitic wasps, snakes and other soldiers fighting on my side.

There are times when things hit plague levels, but usually by the time that happens, I’ve harvested what I want and am ready to put in the next set of crops.

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