Slugs. They are nasty. Creepy. Crawly and slimy. Not much else to say on them besides they are pretty gross. But how do you rid them from your garden. This is what Rita asked me. She asked, “I am having trouble with slugs and really do not feel comfortable using the slug bait called “snail death” any longer. I have free range chickens and I don’t want them to ingest the slug bait either?Any good solutions?” Here are 3 ways to rid your garden of slugs Use cornmeal. Slugs love them some cornmeal and it makes...
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Aphids are wiping out your container garden… …you have tried a DIY spray to no avail. You’ve been told that lady bugs eat aphids and are thinking about buying some for your small container garden. This is the problem that Catherine is having and sent me this question: I’ve got several containers on my deck (no self watering though, sadly) and my tomato plants are getting hit pretty hard by red aphids and little white bugs. I tried a mixture of onion and garlic juice sprayed directly on them but to no avail. Should...
Are you noticing holes in the leaves of your garden? Some foreign powdery substances that seem to be spreading? It’s going to happen eventually. Nobody’s garden is going to be perfect. No matter what you read. There is no need to beat yourself and think that you’re a failure. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Lets take a look at what might be eating your garden, shall we? Here they are… The four common vegetable garden insects and diseases. In each of the posts listed, you’ll learn how to identify,...
By Justin Emig Associate Brand Manager, Safer Brand For most of the country, Spring has DEFINITELY sprung… …and with the onset of Spring, comes the onset of our unwelcome garden pests. The garden pest that has caused the most concern for organic gardeners in recent years has been the cabbage worm. There are several ‘types’ of cabbage worm which include...
There is a white chalky substance on the leaves of your plants. Your container garden looks like Pablo Escobar and his boys had a party in it… …What happened? Don’t worry that white powder is not cocaine, it’s powdery mildew. You’ll notice that the powdery coating is on both sides of the leaves and will eventually start to spread. Those leaves will eventually turn yellow and die. It can also cause the leaves to twist and turn. Your container garden looks like Pablo Escobar and his boys had a party in it....
This post was written by SaferBrand. Not all ‘Organic’ Products are created the same… With the rise of organic gardening, comes the rise of products claiming to be the ‘best’ organic gardening solution. The retail landscape in organic gardening is daunting… …there are countless products all claiming to be organic or natural and solve the problem you are experiencing in your organic garden. It seems that every chemical company has a set of organic products they are trying to convince you to buy. How are you to know...
You have insects in your urban garden… …and are looking for practical advice and a non-chemical way to treat them. I’m with you on that. Some of the worst advice that I’ve received about controlling insects is to buy beneficial insects and release them into the garden. Really? Ladybugs have better things to do then what our urban gardens have to offer. Instead of buying beneficial insects, grow herbs and veggies that will attract them. Instead of buying beneficial insects, grow herbs and veggies that will attract...
Noticing tiny green bugs on your plants… ..But not sure what they are? Those annoying little bastids are aphids. There a billion different varieties of them, but what’s that matter to you? You just need to know what the are. In the rest of this post, I’ll share some characteristics, pictures and ways to get rid of them. Here we go… Those annoying...
There has been a bit of an issue on my balcony garden lately with some ants. One of the swiss chard containers dried up and ants have gotten to it. I’ve been using coffee grounds to help deter them. I’m not sure why exactly this works, but when the ants go near the grounds, they freak out and won’t cross them. The first thing that I did was line...
When I was checking out my balcony garden, I noticed that one container looked pretty empty. After taking a closer look, I thought to myself…when did I plant aloe? Turns out it wasn’t aloe, but it was a container that used to be collard greens? Cabbage worms went to town on them and completely devoured them. By the time I noticed, it wasn’t even...
A few weeks ago the cabbage worms killed the container that had the oak greens in them. This week an aphid infestation has wiped out the container with the purple kale. The natural garden pest control worked well for a bit, but I couldn’t keep up with them. There were massive gray clumps of them on the plant each time I went out there. When I had my fire escape garden in New York City, I had no insect problems at all. In the two months that I’ve had my balcony garden, the insects have already wiped out two containers. I still...
I had my first problems with garden insects a few weeks ago. I wound up wrestling cabbage worms and fighting aphids. Since then, it got me thinking…What would Mr. Miyagi do when faced with cabbage worms and aphids? It came to me. Mr. Miyagi would use natural garden pest control, so would I. I’ve been using chopsticks to pick the cabbage worms off the purple kale and toss them off of my balcony garden. The damage that’s been done is pretty serious. They’ve managed to chew up most of the leaves. The kale is looking...
I was tending to the balcony garden, taking care of the self-watering containers and spraying down the seeds when I noticed a big bit hole taken out of a romaine lettuce leaf. When I took a closer look at the leaves, I saw a little green critter on the back of a leaf. Pretty sure it was a cabbage worm that was going to town and munching on my stuff. It took a few attempts to get him (of course it’s a him, right?) off of the plant. A knife was used to get him off the leaf and he fell into the container. I was having a bit of trouble...
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