Any budding gardener (pun intended) will quickly realize that pests have some seemingly clairvoyant way of knowing when your plants are ready to be utterly decimated. Well, to be honest – nothing is quite other-worldly about it; it is purely science.
As natural as pesky garden pests are, it doesn’t make them any less infuriating, especially when you’re trying hard to establish a beautiful and sustainable garden. Pests are a super common challenge, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t effective ways to prevent your plants from succumbing to the nasty garden invaders.
How to Prevent Your Garden from Pests?
Below are seven simple strategies from the most seasoned gardeners – by following them, you can gain the upper hand and keep your plants protected:
1. Select The Best Varieties
Instead of finding ways to protect weaker plants, choose hardier varieties from the start.
Make life easier for you and your garden by planting varieties with built-in resistance to the most common critters. Research online and find seeds that are known to stand up to the pests before you choose to plant them in your garden.
That is a commonly used method because it takes the headache out of your hobby.
2. Map Pest Timelines
Do your homework and find out what pests are most common in your area. Each pest species has a peak cycle when they do the most damage to plants and gardens. Once you are armed with that information, you can map out timelines for when you should be growing in pallet boxes.
This method works best with fast-growing plants, so don’t expect it to work for everything. That will reduce the damage to at least some of your garden – after all, prevention is much better than a cure.
3. Interplant Crops
Pests often have a preferred crop to attack. That means that by interplanting different crops with each other, you can confuse passing pests. Interplant vegetables with herbs or flowers to create a diverse and confusing planting ground.
The trick to getting the better of those bad bugs is to make it harder for them to tear through your gardens and plants. Keep things interesting by adding pops of brightly-colored crops into cabbage and kale crops – this is a great tip for garden bug prevention because the bugs won’t know what is going on and will hopefully move along.
4. Buy Greenhouses
Growing fruits and vegetables in greenhouses enables you to create a safe and monitored environment for your crops to thrive. Not only do they add an extra layer of protection and coverage against pest attacks, but they are also wonderfully effective at preventing frost damage during the coldest months.
5. Raised Pot Planting
By moving fruit and vegetable plants out of harm’s way, you will keep them safe and intact. Crops that get frequently decimated on the ground level include cabbages, cauliflowers, and carrots – these plants are top of the list for many pests, such as flies and soil-dwelling crawlies.
Grow these plants in pots 20 inches above the ground, well away from the pests that will otherwise hunt them down and destroy them. Planting in pots can also help to reduce other problems, including winter frost and opportunistic snails.
Raising plants can also help stop your garden from being so attractive to other creatures too, like your cat!
6. Stress-Free Plants
Healthy plants are stronger and less susceptible to being attacked by horrible pests.
Stress-free plants can defend against pests more readily than plants that are grown in terrible conditions and not taken care of. Grow your plants in the perfect soil and keep them well-fed and hydrated in dry weather.
Use organic matter to create compost for the soil, which will help your plants grow robust root systems below the ground, resulting in healthy growth above it.
7. Attract Helpful Insects
Not all insects are crop-destroying menaces – some are impressively beneficial and help control pests by eating them or using them as homes for hatching their young. Ladybirds, lacewings, and some wasp species must get tempted to live in your garden to help you protect your plants.
Grow gorgeous flowers like cosmos, lilies, and daisies to attract loads of beneficial bugs to your planting space. Grow them in between your crops or right next to them – to be the most impactful.
End Note
Plant pests are one of the most frustrating parts of gardening, but they don’t have to be if you follow these seven simple steps above. Keep your plants safe and your blood pressure down – that way, everyone is happier.
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