Tara Moreau is the type of gardener who brings her potted plants into the shower with her. She's the type of gardener who refuses to use pesticides and understands with an uncommon depth how to control insects and other pests in her garden.
The PhD Candidate from the University of British Columbia spends her days studying organic pest control for gardeners, but she spends almost all of her free time practicing it in the real world.
"We keep a blog -- specgardens.blogspot.com -- of our rooftop and children's garden," she says. "We try to pass on the lessons that we learn about growing food in urban areas."
Moreau says that with growing concerns over genetically modified foods and pesticides, backyard vegetable gardening is becoming more and more popular across Canada. But there's one question everyone asks: How do you deal with all the pests?
According to Sandy Smith, a professor at the University of Toronto, one of the easiest ways to control six-legged invaders is to plant a diverse garden.
"There are many options out there for community gardeners to increase the biodiversity of their gardens through plant diversity and benign control," Smith says.
"If the vegetation is diverse, then it will support a more diverse faunal community -- insects, microbes, etc. -- which has been shown to be more stable ecologically and less likely to have single-pest problems," Smith says.
It's a process called "companion planting," and it can get pretty complicated.
"Companion planting is a form of small-scale intercropping where non-host plants and aromatic herbs are planted in association with certain crops as a means of warding off pests," Moreau says.
"My recent findings have demonstrated that eggplant can divert whiteflies from sweet peppers," Moreau says.
But other research found that companion plants had no effect in warding off the Colorado potato beetle. In these cases, more drastic measures need to be taken.
But every remedy for warding off insects comes with a caution. Diatomaceous earth -- a white powder made from ground-up, fossilized shells of sea creatures -- punctures holes in the skins of insects and caterpillars, but also kills beneficial insects like bees. Pyrethrum, made from the ground up flower of an African plant, is a stomach poison to many pests, but can also harm household pets.
There is an encyclopedia of household tips and tricks for dealing with bugs and grubs online. But as with any remedy, nothing is a perfect fit for any problem and careful research is required before any form of pest control is used.
"Organic pest control is not easy," warns Moreau. "It is a knowledge- and labour-intensive process that requires time -- growers must be diligent about looking their plants up and down -- energy and a little bit of luck."
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COMPANION PLANTING SUGGESTIONS
Planting dill or Queen Anne's lace can attract lacewings which feed on insect eggs and aphids.
Planting eggplant can attract whiteflies away from your garden. Placing sticky traps near the eggplant can deal with them more permanently.
Planting buckwheat can attract tachinid flies which lay eggs on many common pests. We'll leave it to your imagination as to what happens when the eggs hatch.
HOUSEHOLD TRICKS FOR PEST MANAGEMENT
- Planting dill or Queen Anne's lace can attract lacewings which feed on insect eggs and aphids.
- Planting eggplant can attract whiteflies away from your garden. Placing sticky traps near the eggplant can deal with them more permanently.
- Planting buckwheat can attract tachinid flies which lay eggs on many common pests. We'll leave it to your imagination as to what happens when the eggs hatch.
- Organic pest control starts with healthy soils and a healthy, clean plant," says Tara Moreau, a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia. "My favourite method for my house plants and container plants is to bring them in the shower with me. Not only do they get a good drink of water but you can gently rub the leaves to kill and dislodge the insects."
- Place pieces of roofing shingles around the edge of the flower garden to keep slugs away. They don't like to crawl over the rough surface." -- Courtney Barbour, St. John's, Nfld.
- Orange Peel or chili powder added to the soil keeps squirrels from digging up bulbs." -- Laura Scrivener, London
- Soap and water will get rid of a lot of insects, as well. Many insects do more good than harm, like ants who farm aphids." -- Ashley Fletcher, Truro, N.S.
- Attract toads by putting an upturned clay flowerpot (with an entry hole on one side) in a shady, moist place in your garden. This is an effective way to get rid of many pests since the toads eat slugs, cutworms, sow bugs, caterpillars and various beetles." -- City of Toronto.
