Organic pest and disease control
Good hygiene practices such as disposing of rotten fruit and vegetables rather than leaving them to lie on the ground, using clean secateurs for pruning, and thoroughly disinfecting old containers before potting-up are all ways that you can limit the spread of pests and diseases in your vegetable garden. Crop rotation is also important. This means avoiding growing crops from the same vegetable family in the same soil for two years running because they are susceptible to the same disease organisms which build up in the soil. For example, tomatoes, eggplant, capsicum and potato all belong to the Solanaceae family.
Another option is to grow companion plants. These can act as alternative host plants to lure insect pests away from your vegetables. These include dill, lovage and nasturtiums. Some with strong scents and colours may actually repel or confuse pests and these include mint, garlic, rosemary and marigolds.
You may also be able to find some heirloom varieties which have better disease resistance, and some which are able to withstand harsher environmental conditions making them more resilient if attacked by pests.
If problems do occur, your options for control include:
• Hosing off aphids, blackfly and spider mites
• Using insect traps – sticky traps and providing places, e.g. boards or rocks, for slugs and snails to hide under from where they can be collected and destroyed
• Applying white oil or other eco oils for soft bodied pests and scale insects
• Using pyrethrum for soft bodied pests (but only before or after daytime when bees are active)
• Using insecticidal soaps for aphids
• Encourage predator insects e.g. ladybirds
• Install netting or tie hessian bags around large fruits to protect from insects and birds
• You don’t have to kill all insects, some losses are acceptable!