You may not consider it a big deal if you see ants marching along your rose canes or on your apple trees, but if you ignore them, you may be asking for trouble. That’s because some ants herd aphids, picking the tiny creatures up and placing them where they can get the best food — that is, the sugary sap from your favorite plants. Ants then drink the honeydew the aphids produce. To get rid of both ants and aphids organically, try spraying them off with a jet of water. If that doesn’t work, try a weak solution of insecticidal soap. Diatomaceous earth, sprinkled directly on the pests, will also kill them.

Popularity: 7% [?]

fish bones

Originally uploaded by freebird22207



The next time you find yourself preparing to throw out spoiled fish or fish remains, stop for a second and reconsider. Fish makes a very good natural fertilizer. In fact, it works so well that many Native American horticulturalists buried a fish at the base of each crop plant. You can grind your fish parts up to make your own fertilizer (we recommend using a hand grinder rather than a blender) and then spray it on your plants or work it into the soil, or you can bury chunks of fish at the roots of your plants. Be aware, however, that dogs and some wild animals are fond of strong smells, and may dig up your garden if you use fish as fertilizer. Be sure to bury it deeply, or fence in your garden.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Healthy soil is the key to sustainable organic gardening, but “healthy” goes beyond just tilling it gently and giving it plenty of mulch, fertilizer, and water. For example, did you know that it can take as long as three to five years for your soil to recover from an insect or fungal infestation? It’s not unusual for the same types of plants to get the same types of infections year after year, because the insect eggs and fungal spores remain alive in the soil. Short of sterilizing the soil (which is unadvisable, since you’d kill beneficial and harmful organisms alike), you can leave that particular patch uncultivated for several years until it improves itself. Of course, you can speed up this process by continuing to work in organic matter on a regular basis.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Thrips!

Originally uploaded by Spidra Webster

Thrips are tiny insect pests, somewhat smaller than aphids, that can suck the juice (and life) out of plants such as roses, marigolds, parsley, and sage.

The safest way to get rid of thrips (organically, of course!) is to use an insecticidal soap. If the soap option doesn’t work, try using neem oil, which is much more potent, though perfectly natural — it’s extracted from the seed of the Indian neem tree. Other options include pyrethrin spray, spinosad (Bullseye), or spraying affected plants with beneficial nematodes. All these methods are safe for you and your garden, and all are readily available.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Although maintaining a compost pile is an excellent way to responsibly recycle organic materials, there are some things that you should never try to compost. First of all, any materials that are chemically or biologically contaminated or may promote disease should be avoided. Materials that attract pests, have a strong smell, or create nuisances should also be similarly shunned. Don’t throw fish, meat, or dairy products on your compost pile; nor should you add bones. Charcoal ash should be avoided, because the sulfur dioxide in it is dangerous to plants (especially when mixed with water, when it becomes sulfuric acid). In addition, don’t let weeds with seed heads get into your pile, or any material that you’ve cut off an infected plant.

Popularity: 55% [?]

Manure can make a great fertilizer, but it can be a poor soil amendment, since it enriches your soil with phosphorous. Never use manure from meat-eating animals (like dogs, cats, and pigs), since there’s a possibility it may contain parasitic disease organisms. Dairy cow manure is best.

Popularity: 10% [?]

We’ve written before about vinegar as a natural weed killer, and we’ve told you about our 20 percent vinegar weed killer solution.

But this new product was recommended by one of our suppliers as a natural product that works even better than just vinegar by itself.

Black Jack is a 21 percent vinegar weed killer (hence the name, get it?), with some extra natural ingredients added. It also includes yucca extract, olive oil, garlic oil, citrus oil and molasses along with the vinegar. Those ingredients work as sticking, wetting and emulsifying agents, which makes the vinegar work more effectively at killing weeds.

FYI, you can dilute 20 percent vinegar or Black Jack 21 percent vinegar with half water to get it down to 10 percent vinegar, if you don’t need something as powerful and you’d like to make it go twice as far.

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One way to organically avoid crop diseases is to rotate your crops. If you keep growing the same thing every year in the same place, the disease organisms specific to that plant will build up to intolerable levels. Sometimes, these organisms can survive for as long as five years, even when a susceptible plant isn’t available.

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Don’t worry, we’re not talking about a Hitchcock movie here. We’re talking about gardening! And we’re talking about birds as natural pest control.

Birds can kill insect pests almost as effectively as chemical fertilizers, and they do it cleanly. To take advantage of this, put just enough birdseed out to attract birds, and let them eat up the bugs when the free meal runs out.

If you attract birds and BATS to your yard, you’ve got an unstoppable team that will munch on all sorts of nasty critters both day and night!

Popularity: 10% [?]

Control your urge to kill spiders, whether you see them inside the house or in your garden. Spiders help control insect pests both indoors and out. That said, don’t worry about removing a web that gets in your way. Most spiders re-spin their webs every day anyway.

I kill black widows of course because I have 2-year son who could be seriously affected by their bite, so that’s an exception…

Popularity: 6% [?]