Controlling garden pests and watering your plants properly will help your garden flourish. There are many alternatives to toxic insecticides, including beneficial garden insects, such as ladybugs, which I will discuss here. I will also explain how you can water your garden in a water-saving, plant-friendly way.
Natural pest control
Before you use harsh chemical pesticides, consider using nature’s own pest controllers. Lady bugs, praying mantis, and other helpful insects can help keep some common garden pests from destroying your plants.
Ladybugs, also called lady beetles, eat harmful insects such as aphids and are a cost effective and environmentally friendly method of pest control. You can buy ladybugs from many gardening supply stores and can even order them online. A link I’ve supplied at the end of this article will take you to an excellent web page describing lady bugs and the different kinds of garden pests they will eat.
Be sure to follow the instructions that come with your ladybugs. Ladybugs need moisture and if your garden area is dry, it is a good idea to lightly water before setting the ladybugs free. Don’t buy and release ladybugs too early in the season or they won’t have enough food and will die or will leave your garden for, literally, greener pastures.
Praying Mantis are also beneficial insects. However, along with garden pests they will eat the beneficial ladybugs, and I don’t recommending introducing both praying mantis and ladybugs to your garden.
Like ladybugs, praying mantis eat aphids and other garden pests. Unlike ladybugs, Praying Mantis also eat larger insects such as grasshoppers. If grasshoppers are a big problem for your garden, consider getting praying mantis rather than ladybugs
A side-note about another beneficial garden creature – Earth worms.
Earth worms, though unpleasant to look at, are a gardener’s friend. They tunnel through the ground and this action helps aerate your soil. Avoid killing them if you can.
Sprinklers are convenient but are not always the best method for watering your plants. Some plants are particularly sensitive to getting water on their leaves or flowers. Most vegetable plants do best if they receive water more directly through their root system (which you can assist by using soaker hoses or drip irrigation).
Also, whether you use soaker hoses or a sprinkler system, you should avoid watering in the hottest part of the afternoon because doing so wastes water via evaporation. If you use a sprinkler you should be aware that water on leaves under a hot sun ( for instance on tomato leaves) can scorch the leaves.
In general, the best time to water a lawn or most plants is early morning. This gives the water a chance to soak into the soil, and any moisture left over is evaporated more evenly throughout the day. A second watering in the evening is necessary for thirsty plants. Keep in mind that water remaining on leaves will provide a great breeding ground for unwanted fungus.
Soaker hoses are a good alternative to sprinklers for many plants. Soaker hoses cut down on water waste and are usually better for your plants. As the name implies, these hoses allow water to seep out to your plants rather than spray out over your plants. Soaker hoses are not expensive and can be found in most places that sell gardening supplies.
If you can afford it, you may want to purchase a drip irrigation system instead of simple soaker hoses. The price varies, but I have seen these systems for around $50.
By using natural pest control and good watering techniques, you can help your garden thrive and you won’t have to worry about residual, harmful, pesticides. Creating a natural insecticide-free garden may seem like more work, but will pay off in the end. Remember that when you use chemical pesticides, you kill off all the beneficial insects as well and this throws your garden’s ecosystem off balance.