Controlling Pests And Diseases The Organic Way - Companion Planting

Companion planting is used to help control pests and diseases the natural way. There are various plants that grow well together, some however, do not do so well together.

Maintaining healthy plants is the best way to avoid Pests & Disease. Soil Rich in Organic Matter is a great starting point. Companion planting is a great way of keeping the nitrogen level up in the soil. In the vegetable garden you can mix Legume crops such as peas and beans with root crops such as carrots. Alternate planting's between rows of carrots and rows of Peas or Beans.

The Legumes contain Nitrogen sacks on the roots, which will aid in the feeding of the carrots and other root vegetables as they grow.

Plants that do well together to fight Pests & Disease are:

GARLIC:

Garlic planted near roses will help control aphids. Garlic is also valuable for repelling snails, and carrot root fly. Garlic in concentrated sprays have been seen to repel and kill whiteflies, aphids and fungus gnats among others with as little as a 10% concentration level! I have also used Garlic Sprays on Orchids without any problems.

LAVENDER:

Lavender can aid in repelling fleas and moths. Lavender also attracts bees which are feeding and beneficial insects. Dried lavender can repel moths. This is a great alternative to traditional methods and smells better too.

MARIGOLD:

Marigold has long been used as a companion plant for its natural insect repelling qualities. It will help eliminate Nematodes from the soil & will also repel ants.

MINT

Mint is useful planted amongst Brassica's as it is known to repel Cabbage Moth.

CHIVE

Chive planted around the base of fruit trees will help prevent insects from crawling up the trunk.

This is just a small sample of an almost endless list of potential companion plants. The above plants are very common and would be found in almost every garden. The next time your planting out a new Vegetable garden bed, consider using companion planting methods to help control pests & disease in your garden.

Eric J. Smith is an Organic Gardener and passionate Environmentalist. He is dedicated to promoting the need for an Organic, Natural World. Find out more on Organic Personal Care Products here

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