Pests Away
I stopped using pesticides on my garden vegetables years ago.
For several years afterward, I planted an extensive border of marigolds, because I heard that they helped keep pests away. Marigolds did seem to do the job.
Then one year, I just didn’t feel like buying and planting all those marigolds.I figured I’d chance it and hope that the bugs didn’t eat everything.
A funny thing happened, though. I didn’t notice any difference in the plants from the years when I did use marigolds. Sure, a few insects still hung around my garden, but not enough to put a dent in my harvest.
Just the other day, I think I found out why.
Among the gardening tips sent to me the other day from the Farmers’ Almanac was one that recommends natural pest control. It lists the planting of marigolds, but also some others.
It turns out that just as marigolds give off odors or secretions that ward off insects, so too do basil, chives, mint, onion, horseradish and garlic plants.
Well, I had been planting basil right in my vegetable garden every year, and chives and mint nearby, without even knowing that they provide pest protection.
(The photo above, by the way, is not my garden, but one in Old Salem, which also uses natural pest control.)
