Garden Studios

With such a lot of products being taken off the market lately, and the mood of gardeners getting ever-greener, it pays to grasp your way around the multitude of non-chemical remedies available to maintain pests and diseases under control. You’ll find some in garden centres or the equipment pages of huge seed catalogues, and others from specialist organic suppliers corresponding to Suffolk Herbs (www.suffolkherbs.com) and the Organic Gardening Catalogue (www.organiccatalogue.com).

Copper tape to discourage slugs

Tack copper tape along the timber rims of raised vegetable beds or sit copper rings round emerging crowns of at-risk perennials resembling delphiniums – this deters slugs and snails by delivering a weak “electric shock”. Copper tape with toothed edges is doubly effective, because the prongs stop snails climbing up and excessive . 

Lay pheromone traps

These are cunning lures that mimic the scent of receptive female insects to draw males, then glue them to the spot hindering breeding. Hang them up near target plants from the beginning of the breeding season. Differing types are available in for codling moth (ie maggots) in apples, maggots in plums, raspberry maggots and a brand new sort for leek moth – find it at the leeks page of Dobies’ seed catalogue (www.dobies.co.uk).

Create a barrier

Fine insect-proof netting (like a rough-weave fleece that screens out bugs without making crops overheat) may be used to entirely cover at-risk crops throughout their life and keep insects reminiscent of cabbage white butterflies out. They’re best for leafy or root crops – if used on crops that have to be pollinated, uncover plants after they start flowering.

Eco-friendly repellents and non-chemical baits

Look for environmentally-friendly slug pellets that contain harmless ferric phosphate as opposed to metaldehyde. Saucers of beer are an old home cure for trapping slugs and spray-on yucca extract deters them from crossing a treated area – use around the base of pots, as an example. Ring at-risk plants with prickly holly leaves as a deterrent or use Slug Stoppa granules, which absorb slime from mollusc trails and dehydrate the slugs so that they can’t move and are eaten by birds and other predators.

Natural powders and sprays

Products in response to rapeseed oil (eg Bug Clear) suffocate smaller insect pests by blocking their breathing holes, but leave larger beneficial bugs unharmed. Fatty acids (aka liquid insecticidal soap, eg Organic Bug Free) are modern versions of old remedies to be used on flowers, fruit and veg with small insect pests, including hard-to-tackle whitefly and red spider mite. Sulphur powder controls powdery mildew on flowers, veg and a few fruit, and pyrethrum powders or sprays (made out of chrysanthemum flowers) treat aphids, caterpillars, ants, weevils and flea beetles. 

Varieties with built-in resistance

Many modern types of veg has been bred with built-in resistance to certain pests or diseases – these are identified in seed catalogues or on seed packets. You could find partially carrot-fly-resistant carrots, club root-resistant brassicas and courgettes that shrug off mildew or virus. Some modern potato varieties deter eelworm, potato blight and/or other common problems. Many roses also are bred with varying degrees of resistance to disease – consult rose catalogues, reference books or growers’ websites. Young plants of a few tomatoes and peppers come in grafted directly to rootstocks that resist the type of root diseases often found in greenhouse soil.

Biological control

A large range of predatory and parasitic bugs is out there to tackle particular pest problems, including slugs, vine weevils, greenflies, chafer grubs or leatherjackets in lawns, and red spider mites, whiteflies or mealybugs in greenhouses. There’s also a mixed pack that treats several vegetable garden soil pests in addition ants. Introduce biological control early, once conditions permit, for max benefit – a second dose later is usually recommended. It’s pricey but effective if used very precisely.

Mother nature’s pest controllersGrow old-fashioned hardy annuals and herbs to encourage a healthy population of untamed beneficial insects corresponding to hover flies and ladybirds. Also supply food and water for birds because they eat huge numbers of caterpillars and aphids within the spring. Hedgehogs, thrushes, foxes and shrews will eat snails. 

Plant of the week

Miniature roses 

Visit any florist or supermarket now and you’re absolute to see pots of miniature roses. They last much longer than cut blooms – and are far cheaper – but a lot of people are surprised to be told that they aren’t house plants in any respect: these are real outdoor rose bushes that naturally stay around a foot high. These charmers are fine indoors for four to 6 weeks but must then be planted outside that allows you to keep them long-term. When the flowers are world wide, harden them off by standing them outside by day and bringing them in at night. Try this for several weeks, then prepare a rich bed somewhere sunny with well-drained soil or use a bath and plant them out permanently. They don’t need proper pruning as such, but tidy them up in spring.