The Garden Coach

Most gardeners today are looking for natural controls for pests, disease and other gardening problems. Often the best natural control begins with healthy soil … one of the great maxims of natural gardening is “Feed your soil before you feed your plants” and adding a good layer of compost to your lawn or garden on a regular basis may be all you need to keep pests and disease under control. But if you find that’s not sufficient, here are some other natural controls you might want to try out:

Aphids, Scale & Mealy Bugs

All three can be easily controlled with an insecticidal soap. You can purchase one or make one up yourself with a 40:1 (water:soap) mixture. Make sure you use pure soap and not detergent. Spray the plant thoroughly to completely coat the leaves and stem. Leave it on for 5-10 minutes then rinse it off completely. For mealy bugs & scale add 8 parts of rubbing alcohol to get through their protective exterior.

Grubs and Beetles

Most of the common grubs (the larvae stage of beetles) and the beetles themselves (such as June bugs and European Chafer beetles) can be effectively controlled with an application of nematodes every two to three years. Nematodes can be purchased at your local nursery. Follow instructions and make sure that your lawn is very well watered before and after application.

Slugs & Their Eggs

Slugs can be a the biggest problem for many hostas (next to deer, of course!). As a preventative in spring, spray a 10:1 water:ammonia solution over the crowns in spring before the leaves have unfurled to kill any which have overwintered. If you miss the spring treatment, anything gritty around the plant will work well to scratch the surface of the slug, causing them to dry out and die. Some gardeners have also had success with copper wire or pennies around the plant - properties of the copper interact with the slug’s moisture and the ground to create a small electrical charge that keeps them away.

Spittlebug

These little bugs produce a liquid that they whip up into a mass of bubbles that look just like spit. A good strong spray of insecticidal soap will control the bug and should be applied whenever they are seen.

Weeds & Grass

Instead of using a chemical product try a combination of: 4 cups of vinegar + 1/4 cup of salt + 2 tbsp. of dish soap. Spray on the undesirably growth when you can anticipate a few days without rain. Die back should only take a few days. (To be honest I haven’t tried this one myself yet and I’d welcome any comments - S)

Black Spot on Roses

A fungal disease, black spot can occur throughout the growing season and appears as (what else?) black spots on leaves, often surrounded by yellowing.  A natural treatment is to spray the plant with a mixture of:  100 parts water, 1 part baking soda and 1-2 drops of dish soap (again, not detergent).  In general fungal diseases (like the very common powdery mildew on phlox) are exacerbated by high humidity so one of the best natural controls for fungus is to keep the plant well pruned and open to the air.  Don’t compost any diseased leaves and pick them up from the ground.

If you can add anything to this or suggest any changes please let me know with the comment function below: