EasyBloom Forum

I'm located in Southern California, growing carrots, snow peas, lettuce, catnip, strawberries, and tomatoes in a raised 4x4 foot garden bed on the southern side of my house. I've recently began noticing a problem with aphids, hornworms, and spider mites. What are some organic methods to control these pests? And should I aim for total genocide of these vermin or let them be and hope Mother Nature will keep the balance?

Hey Christopher...There are many organic ways to control pests. There are also some non-toxic sprays that you can use to control pests. Horticultural oils and pesticides with potassium salts are generally safe to use on plants that are meant for consumption. (BE SURE TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS OF ANY PESTICIDE SINCE MANY OF THEM ALSO HAVE CHEMICALS IN THEM THAT ARE BAD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.) You can also introduce some predatory insects to your garden. The most famous of these are lady bugs. Lady bugs are voracious predators of aphids, but they can sometimes simply fly away when you introduce them to your garden. As for eradication/genocide vs. control, it is almost always impossible to eradicate the pests from your garden. For the most part, the best you can hope for is to maintain a low population of pests. You can achieve this naturally by growing leafy perennials around your garden. This is a good place for natural pest predators to lay in wait so they can prey upon your pests when the pest population increases. Growing carrots (although not a perennial) is a great way to introduce natural predators to your garden. Carrots and plants in the same family as carrots generally have highly dissected leaves which give great hiding spots for predators. If you want quick results I would recommend using a non-toxic pesticide, but if it's a sustained predator population you're after, you may want to look into predator introductions and growing plants that will naturally host them. I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers, Dr. Robby