How to Have a Healthy Garden and Keep It Free of Pest

Preparing for the summer time feast by planting our garden in the spring is exciting. Knowing that throughout the summer we will have a beautiful garden with fresh vegetables, well there’s nothing like it. Walking out and picking a fresh cucumber, a ripe tomato, a bell pepper and some lettuce for a wonderful side salad for supper and knowing we grew it out self with the help of Mother Nature of course is so rewarding. So taking care of it is so important.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Garden space, seeds, vegatable plants, water hose, hoe, mother nature, organic mulch, organic humus,

1. You decided where to plant the garden. It’s best in a sunny location because vegetables love the sun. Don't plant the garden near trees for the trees will drain the water, nutrients and the life from the vegetables, plus the trees block sunlight from shinning on the garden.

2. 
    

   Plant your garden in an area with good drainage. Without proper drainage your vegetables will drown or rot. The soil must be prepared first by tilling, or plowing, weeding out the grass and weeds and adding organic humus into the soil. Preparing the soil will give your garden the right start. Making your rows and hill them up so that they will not retain water in small valleys.

3. 
    

   Now you know where to plant you must decide what to plant. Plant vegetables your family love, things you eat every week. Maybe even plant some new vegetable in the garden you have never planted before that may be expensive to buy, but cheap to plant. Most vegetables when planting from seeds should be planted about 1/4" below soil and covered lightly. Check your pack to make sure of the depth, but 1/4" is a safe depth. If you have very small seeds like Brussels sprouts, they can be planted directly on the top of the soil or just below. Plant tomato plants half way the plant. Try to plant the garden the day of or the day before a good expected rain.

4. 
    

   Once your vegetables emerge from the soil and are up a good 1” or 2” so you know that it’s a plant start weeding. From this day forward keep the weeds under control, this will help keep the weeds and grass under control all season. This is so important to a healthy garden, because grass and weeds like the trees drain water and nutrients from the healthy plants. Weeds and grass also draw unwanted bugs to the garden. Use the old hands or hoeing the old fashion way it's the free way to go, but there are other ways to fight the weeds too.

5. 
    

   Keeping the weeds under control is imperative to a healthy garden. Hoeing the garden like I said and getting not just around the plant, but in the stepping rows also if you have grass and weeds growing in them that will eventually get to the plants.
   Turning the soil with the hoe will give the vegetable plants oxygen also.
   Using organic mulch is another way to keep weeds down. Mulch also keeps moisture better when placed around the vegetables.
   When you mow the grass let the grass dry out and place it around the vegetable plants this will also keep weeds down. Also the use of straw is another good way.
   Another way is vinegar and dish washing liquid, yes vinegar and dish washing liquid. In a spray bottle mix 3 parts of white vinegar and 1 part of cheap dish washing detergent. Shake and spray on all the weeds and grass in the garden, but be careful and don’t get on the vegetable plants it will kill them. Be careful of over spray onto vegetables.

6. Now the gardens growing and these little tiny pests start to show up all over your new vegetable plants. I’m going to give you great tips that are all natural and want harm the vegetables, you or your family. You don't have to do all of them, try a few out and see what works best for your garden.

7. 
    

   In a spray bottle mix 5 or 6 drops of dish washing liquid in water and spray the vegetable plants.
   
   Crush a couple of large cloves of garlic and soak it in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over night. Strain mixture and add it to a spray bottle full of water, shake well and spray plants.
   
   Dig small holes throughout the garden and place black pepper in them.
   
   Put a small amount of cayenne pepper in olive oil, let sit overnight, strain, shake well and spray plants.
   
   If you can find them ladybugs and praying mantis are good to put in the garden for pest control. Some garden supply centers you can purchase the lady bugs as for the praying mantis purchase eggs and put them in the garden, they will then hatch and help with your pests. If not you can attract them by planting daisies.
   
   Open a cheap can of beer and bury it around in different areas of the garden. Put it in the ground leaving about 2” above ground. This is great for slugs. Using old egg shells and scattering them in the garden will also work.
   
   Put a bird bath and house near the garden to encourage birds. They love bugs.
   
   Put a small short bowl full of water and a small water plant to encourage the frogs they are also bug lovers.

8. 
    

   Here some plants you can put in the garden to deter pest. One of my favorites is marigolds in the rows you walk in the garden and around the perimeter of the garden. Planting marigolds around the edges will keep away not only pest, but deer and rabbits also. Combined with borage you have the tomatoes plants pretty well protected. Some others are peppermint, spearmint, rosemary, and basil.

9. You can also companion plant vegetables together that will keep pest off other vegetables. There are too many to mention, but if you Google companion planting for garden vegetables you will find plenty of sites.

10. What ever you don't spray products such as round up in the garden because you want have a garden the next day or so if you do. Round up is meant to kill grass and weeds, but it will also kill your vegetables.

11. 
     
    vegatables garden pest healty plants bugs

    Watering is important to your new garden especially in the beginning. Make sure if you don't plant when there is good rain coming to water the garden thoroughly. Keep an eye on it through the growing season and water when needed, but do not over water. It is not necessary to water every day. A good way to check is to stick your finger into the soil and see if it is moist, if so no need to water yet, if so give it a good drink from the garden hose.

[FrazzledNanny]

on 5/31/2009 Thanks for the healthy garden tips. I have a container garden this year and your tips help. 5*