Organic Pest Control For Your Home Garden

The definition of Organic Pest Control is very broad. Generally, organic pest control means discouraging or destroying insects or pests without using manmade or synthetic chemicals that will be harmful to humans or animals. There are many means of pest control beyond the use of synthetic or natural chemicals. The following methods can reduce or eliminate the expense, preparation, storage and general need for any chemicals.

Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is an excellent way to manage pests, enhance soil health, and has been used for centuries. Since many pests rely on specific crops as a food source and for reproduction, removing or moving a crop can eliminate the food source and habitat for those pests. The simple act of moving a crop or plants from one area to another every year can confuse pests and reduce their population when they lose a favorite or familiar spot.

Companion Planting
Couple crop rotation with Companion planting for double duty! This method of planting not only enhances nutrients available, but can attract pollinators, and deter pests of surrounding plants. For example, planting nasturtiums near kale, cabbage or other brassicas. Nasturtium’s beautiful and edible blooms naturally draw in pollinators. Nasturtiums also draw cabbage worms to feed on blooms and leaves that helps keep those pests away from nearby brassicas. Nasturtiums are self-seeding and easy to grow too!

Biological Pest Control
Another chemical free method, biological pest management, is achieved by using natural enemies to regulate pests. A classic and well-known example would be the use of ladybugs, which feed on aphids, to control aphids that are destroying plants in the garden. The focus of biological control is minimizing the damage caused by pests by reducing or suppressing them. Another benefit to biological pest control is eliminating the potential of developing pesticide resistant pests. Biological pest control can be implemented to control insects, weeds or pathogens that affect plants or animals.

Mechanical Pest Control

There are many methods of mechanical pest control that provide a targeted approach to removing pests. This method of physical control can be time-consuming, but also very efficient. Handpicking harmful insects from plants can take significant time and energy but can be the quickest and most direct option for removing pests. An example would be removing visible squash bugs from spaghetti squash plants along with eggs laid on the underside of plant leaves. Locating and removing the pests before damage is done to plants can be a bit difficult.

The use of covers, barriers, or screening are mechanical options that can also be very effective if implemented before pests, or their larvae, are present in the garden. These barriers can save the time of hand-picking pests, but since some insects are very, very small, barriers may be breached by those very determined pests!

Often it is the combination of one or multiple control options that can reduce or eliminate garden pests, allowing the usage of any type of chemicals to be the last resort.

The Fall Vegetable Garden

Four Season Harvest - E Coleman

You can extend your garden growing season by using some of these practiced techniques. With the help of row covers, fall and winter crops can be harvested well into the winter and early spring. Cold tolerant varieties are planted in late summer or early fall, primarily in low tunnels, for harvest throughout the winter. This requires learning the correct planting window times for your location. It is important to keep records by writing them down in your Garden Journal, determine what works best, and make improvements. Timing is important when planting. Eliot Coleman refers to the winter "Persephone period” when with less than 10 hours of daylight plant growth essentially stops. For the best fall and winter harvest, plants should reach 75% of their maturity by the Persephone period. This winter period starts on November 6th and ends on February 3rd in the Treasure Valley.

Row Covers Row covers or low tunnels are essentially small greenhouses. Plastic irrigation tubing is used to make arches and clear plastic sheeting is pulled tight at either end and buried on one side. The other side is held down with long boards and used to access and harvest the plants inside. These covers are placed over the winter hardy plants in October and vented on warm days. When daytime temperatures remain below freezing they are kept tightly closed and only harvested on the warmest sunny days. Snow can make them inaccessible at times, but the plants inside remain well insulated and protected. When the temperatures warm enough to melt the snow, the carrots, lettuce, spinach, onions and other greens will not only be eatable, but will begin to grow again. When daytime temperatures are above freezing the cover is removed and only pulled back over on freezing nights. Watch a great video on how to install row covers!
Succession Planting
A continuous harvest is insured through succession planting, which allows for crops to mature at different times, provide a longer harvest period, and create a buffer if winter temperatures arrive unusually early or late. Well-timed, staggered plantings create a smooth transition from one harvest to the next for a steady supply through the winter. Cold hardy crops are planted outside in late summer, then a movable row cover or low tunnel is placed over them when temperatures drop below freezing. After the winter crops are harvested, open spaces can be reseeded with cold tolerant crops for an early spring harvest. Whenever a crop is harvested or grows beyond its prime it is removed, the soil is amended and new seeds are planted. All salad and Asia greens grow so rapidly that it is necessary to have sweet tender leaves. Overwintered crops protected by a row cover can be uncovered by the middle of March. These protected crops of Spinach, lettuce, leeks, and onions will begin to grow with the increased daylight and warmer days, but still tolerate nighttime freezing. The row cover can now be used to warm and protect a new planting of carrots, beets and lettuce. Crop rotation aids in not exhausting the soil, and pests and diseases overwintering in the soil and infecting the new crop. An example would be to follow early lettuce with beans, peas, or carrots. It should be three to four years before the same crop is returned back to the same plot in your garden.
Here's a link for Idaho: Vegetable Planting Calendar.
Garden crops
Garlic Allium sativum Garlic is an essential ingredient in most savory dishes, and is another flavorful plant that can be used at any stage of growth. In Asia, young green garlic is common and has a mild fresh flavor. Garlic is planted in October to allow for the roots to establish before winter. The garlic beds are then covered with straw or a row cover, which is removed in spring. It is related to both onions, leeks, shallots, and chives. When considering a location, it is important to also note that Garlic does not do well where Brassica family crops grew the year before. When the green tops begin to die back the garlic bulbs are loosened and pulled. They must be allowed to cure out of direct sun, with good air flow.
Leeks Allium porrum Leeks are an important part of my year-around garden. They are an essential ingredient in winter and spring soup. Leeks are a long season crop and are started early from seed inside, then transplanted out into composted deep holes for long blanched white stems. For a winter harvest they can be protected by row covers and harvested well into the spring. If leeks remain after winter and they begin to go to seed, the flower stem can be removed and sautéed with butter, then the root will form a white bulb in early summer. These “leek bulbs” are wonderful in stews and roasted. Early leeks can be planted in succession and harvested into summer.
Spinach Spinacia oleracea Spinach is a hardy green that can be harvested almost all winter. It will germinate and grow at temperature just above freezing. Fall planted spinach can be overwintered under row covers and harvested right up until hard freezes. October plantings will overwinter very small and begin growing in the early spring for a fresh new crop when the winter harvest has depleted. Spring planting can start as early as January and continue through April for an almost uninterrupted harvest. During the heat of summer Spinach goes to seed rapidly and other greens can be consumed until it cools and the fall crop begins.  

Radish Raphanus sativus Radishes are traditionally the first crop harvested from a spring garden and one of the last late into the fall. Because they are related to the Brassica family they should not precede or follow them in the same location. Radishes grow quickly in cool moist conditions. They are a fast crop and can be planted in small open space throughout the garden every 2-3 weeks. 

Lettuce Lactuca sativa Lettuce is an essential crop in my garden rotation. Succession planting of cool season lettuces in the fall provides salads well into December and the new growth begins again at the end of January under the protection of row covers. Lettuce requires high soil fertility and consistent moisture at planting. In the heat of the summer it can be helpful to cover newly planted lettuce seed with a board to keep them cool and moist until germination. Be sure to check them daily and remove the board when the first seedlings are spotted. Plantings at two week intervals to replace other crops removed has been the best way I have found to insure a consistent lettuce harvest. Any excess lettuce provides a much loved treat for chickens.
Tatsoi Brassica rapa var. narinosa Tatsoi is an Asian green that forms a compact, thick rosette and has a long harvest period. It is both heat and cold tolerant and is excellent both in salads and stir-fries. Succession plant beginning in spring at 2-3 week intervals for a continuous harvest. They should be harvested before bolting for a less bitter flavor. Control flea beetles and other pests with a floating row cover. 

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots planted the first of August can be left in the ground with row covers for protection and harvested all winter. The cold-soil storage enhances the sweetness and flavor as they remain in the ground. New spring sowing can be made in December for an early May harvest.

These carrots were in hoop house and pulled mid February.
Onions Allium cepa Fresh onion all growing season is attained by planting a combination of seeds and transplants. January sown ‘Copra’ seeds will be transplanted into well composted soil where lettuce has been grown previously and provide the main harvest of storage onions. Fall planted overwintering ‘Walla Walla Sweet’ onions protected by a row cover provide green onions during the spring through thinning, and will produce an early large bulb in June.
Beet Beta vulgaris From beet green at thinning time to baby beets, and fall storage beets are a widely available and flexible root crop. Beets do best in a neutral pH soil with a generous amount of organic matter. Beets can be sown under row covers in January for an early spring harvest, all the way to August for a fall harvest. They should be thinned to 2 inches apart and the thinnings can be added to a salad. 

Wonderful Bounty Throughout the Winter!!!

Crop Rotation

Planning for crop rotation is a must for any home gardener and will help with the health and productivity of your garden year after year.  From container gardening, raised beds, or garden beds, crop rotation plays an important role in the success of your home garden.  The practice of crop rotation has been found throughout human history in agriculture.

What is crop rotation and why is it so important?

Crop rotation is simply changing the location where you grow plants within a family, every season. The practice of crop rotation each season will help maintain the health of your soil and reduce the risk of plant diseases and pests associated in certain plant families. For effective crop rotation, a plant family should not be planted in the same area for a minimum of three to four years.

What is an example of a basic four method rotation plan?

For a home garden with four garden spaces, here is an example of growing four categories of plants by legume, root, leaf, and fruit. Each growing season the category of plants are rotated to the next garden space, going right to left in the diagram shown below.

For home gardeners with more space, rotation by family is another option for more complex crop planning. Here is a table of common vegetables and their plant family classifications:

To help keep track of your garden’s crop rotation plan, it is important to keep a yearly garden map or journal where plants are located.  It can be difficult to remember plant locations by year three or four; so keeping a record is important for implementing a successful crop rotation plan.

Although crop rotations for a small garden can be a challenge, ensuring plant families are not grown in the same area each year will lead towards a healthier and more productive garden.

Crop Rotation in the Vegetable GardenAgricultural Technology
Using Crop Rotation in Home Vegetable Garden