Pest-Controlling Garden Plants

[sameech]

Do any of you folks have any recommendations for or against certain plants to put in a veg garden to help in pest control? I know Dusty millers are supposed to be good. I have planted marigolds nearby before but they smell so bad that I am afraid if I put any directly next to a veg plant, they may alter the flavors with their noxiousness.

 

[Wolfsister77]

Lavender is a good choice for repelling pests. I don't know if it would alter the taste of your veggies but it is a good repellent for pests. They don't like the smell.

 

[sameech]

Lavender is a good choice for repelling pests. I don't know if it would alter the taste of your veggies but it is a good repellent for pests. They don't like the smell.

It has never done well for me by seed or plant, but I might give it a try again just to see.

 

[pismoe]

I have heard about intensive inter planting of vegetables , herbs using companion planting as a guide . The idea is that different vegetable plants put out different light waves and this different light pattern supposedly confuses bugs so that they don't know what to target . I don't plant flowers in the garden space as I figure that I can't / don't eat flowers . I'll try to get a link . I also plant companion vegetables as close together as I can .

 

[Wolfsister77]

Another idea if you don't want to do lavender or marigolds is planting flowers like sunflowers if you have room that attract beneficial bugs to eat the pests.

 

[sameech]

Another idea if you don't want to do lavender or marigolds is planting flowers like sunflowers if you have room that attract beneficial bugs to eat the pests.

I did plant some sun flowers--but that is more for the deer/squirrel to fight over

I also cast some cosmos seeds around them. They are both coming up which is a relief because that was in one of my rows that had a gully wash through the centerline of them as soon as I planted. The other row has okra and nasturtium which are starting to grow up. I had thrown some Christmas beans in one of them but not much happening. Those just don't do well for me. This is the second year I have planted them and I just get sporadic plants.

I tilled up another maybe 5X15 space above one of my dog cages and threw some corn into it today and planted a peach tree I got half off at Lowe's on closeout today. I will probably fill in some spaces in my beets with seeds since some did not come up; maybe get another peach tree, tomorrow, and it will just be maintenance and eating until fall. Have my first cherry tomatoes coming on but they are still green, so I am waiting with bated breath for the full moon to redden them up

 

[Grandma]

You didn't know that marigolds are edible? So are lots of other flowers.

You can tie strips of plastic or little tin pie plates on stakes around the garden to scare of birds and deer.

If it's legal in your state, pot plants attract and kill some pest bugs.

 

[sameech]

You didn't know that marigolds are edible? So are lots of other flowers.

You can tie strips of plastic or little tin pie plates on stakes around the garden to scare of birds and deer.

If it's legal in your state, pot plants attract and kill some pest bugs.

No, but I think they smell wretched so I doubt I could down them anyway. I plant nasturtium because I like to eat their leaves in salad. I do have a few marigolds coming back up from last year's seeds in my garden.

I am waiting for a close out sale on birdbaths so I might stick one of those in the garden to help attract birds to eat bugs. I have a couple of those big old school bird baths that weigh a billion pounds someone gave me that I have near the house, but I just can bring myself to try to carry them down the hill to the garden. I just about got a hernia getting them out of my truck and ten feet into their current positions.

I do the crime scene tape, pie pans, and bars of soap for the deer. My neighborhood is crawling in cats, so rabbits aren't a problem so I don't really need physical barrier. I did put some extra cages down sideways along the green beans with some pie pie on them so if a deer hit it, the pan will rattle.

No, pot is not legal in my state.

 

[Asclepias]

Get you some preying mantis eggs and plant oregano.

 

[pismoe]

good idea on the bug eating Preying Mantis plus I think that aphid eating Ladybugs can also be bought to be released in a garden .

 

[Asclepias]

good idea on the bug eating Preying Mantis plus I think that aphid eating Ladybugs can also be bought to be released in a garden .

Only problem with the lady bugs is they need something to keep them there. There has to already be plenty of aphids. If there is not enough food and water, they simply fly away in search of it.

 

[pismoe]

yep , I suppose but when they leave I suppose that their work is done Asceplias !!

 

[sameech]

good idea on the bug eating Preying Mantis plus I think that aphid eating Ladybugs can also be bought to be released in a garden .

Only problem with the lady bugs is they need something to keep them there. There has to already be plenty of aphids. If there is not enough food and water, they simply fly away in search of it.

So I should infest my garden with bad bugs so I can attract good bugs? Are you sure you don't work for the CIA designing false flag operations?

 

[Asclepias]

good idea on the bug eating Preying Mantis plus I think that aphid eating Ladybugs can also be bought to be released in a garden .

Only problem with the lady bugs is they need something to keep them there. There has to already be plenty of aphids. If there is not enough food and water, they simply fly away in search of it.

So I should infest my garden with bad bugs so I can attract good bugs? Are you sure you don't work for the CIA designing false flag operations?

No. What I'm saying is that it is a balance. The bad bugs come and the good bugs come and eat them. In the case of ladybugs it will be aphids that come first. If they are not there when you release the ladybugs they will have nothing to eat and will not lay eggs. They will fly away.

 

[sameech]

Only problem with the lady bugs is they need something to keep them there. There has to already be plenty of aphids. If there is not enough food and water, they simply fly away in search of it.

So I should infest my garden with bad bugs so I can attract good bugs? Are you sure you don't work for the CIA designing false flag operations?

No. What I'm saying is that it is a balance. The bad bugs come and the good bugs come and eat them. In the case of ladybugs it will be aphids that come first. If they are not there when you release the ladybugs they will have nothing to eat and will not lay eggs. They will fly away.

Ha ha. I was kidding. I was doing my impersonation of my nephew who likes to break things so he can try to fix them.

Ants and squash beetles are my only two persistent garden insect problems. I do seem to get some various creepy spiders but they do not do any real damage. Beyond that it just varies from year to year--like sometimes I'll have a cut worm and most years I won't; some years I will have slugs, most years I won't; etc.