Growing season is fast approaching and there is one issue that affects newbies and seasoned gardeners alike - the little crawlies that come visiting to ruin our hard work. Like us, they come out to enjoy the Summers as well. It’s heartbreaking, not to mention expensive, to see them munch on your beautiful flowers and greens.
So how do we keep the aphids, gnats, cabbage worms and anything else away from our garden while keeping it organic and chemical free? Rather than spraying your garden with chemical laden pesticides, plant these pest resistant plants around your garden along with other plants to keep those buggers away.
- Chives and Onions: Planting these won’t just give you a supply from your edible garden but also keep aphids, spider mites and carrot flies away. You get a nice fresh chive bunch for your salad and your garden keeps clear of pests.
- Catnip: A big one in the list. This might be your kitty's favorite plant but it reples a long list of pests like Ants, Flea Beetles, Aphids,Japanese Beetle,Squash Bugs, Weevils, Colorado Potato Beetle,Cabbage Looper, Cockroaches.So if you have a cat, you might want to avoid planting this one or you can put an enclosure around the place you plant it to keep your cat away.
- Wormwood: Oh the amount of plants that have been chomped away by the cabbage worms, we have lost count. Wormwood will keep that glutton away from your garden along with slugs, carrot rust flies, black flea beetles, and white cabbage butterflies. Keep your greens thriving and safe by planting this in your veggie patch.Bonus: It looks beautiful with its colorful variations. So you get an ornamental plant guard for your garden.
- Lemon Thyme: It’s not just these little pests that invade the garden. Sometimes it is those big fluffy friends as well. So, if your cat or your neighbors cat has decided your garden to be her litter box or just a play yard, then planting this will keep those furry paws off your green space. We might like the fragrance of lemon but they detest it and will keep away and it is non toxic as well.
- Marigolds: Ahh, one of our personal favorites. This is a multipurpose solution to your garden. The beautiful color adds to your garden, the fragrance is lovely and wafts around in the space and a yummy addition to your salads. The best part? Mosquitoes and Aphids don’t like the strong fragrance and keep away and rabbits don’t like to munch on the bitter taste. So this is win win!
- Painted Daisies: Not only adding painted daisies to your garden adds color to it but the natural compound called pyrethrum present in it is a natural insecticide, which has been used in creating pesticides as well.
Keeping the pests away can be a constant struggle, so if you have a strong infestation or for some reason you are not able to plant these plants in your garden, refer to our blog for making your own organic pesticides at home, which keep the bugs away and keep your garden and family safe from the chemical exposure.
