Organic/natural pesticides – Should I? Shouldn’t I?

Firstly, what is an organic pesticide? Organic pesticides are chemicals that are used that are grown naturally, as opposed to the ones that are made chemically.

For farmers and gardeners, pesticides are needed to help protect and maintain crops and control various pests and disease carriers – they are an important part of the growing process. We all know that using organic or natural pesticides for our crop gardens is best for us, our gardens, and the environment. Organic pesticides tend to break down better in the environment and have lower levels of pesticide residue.

There are many benefits of using organic pesticides, some being: They are better for your health, the environment, they’re biodegradable, some are more effective over a longer period of time and are generally cheaper than their chemical counterparts.

You should have an understanding of your soil and should start off by planting your plants and vegetables using organic soil – good soil is the start to a healthy garden. You also need to consider natural ways for preventing pests from entering your gardens, like, copper tape around your veggie boxes, to help repel snails and slugs or possibly mesh netting. Companion planting is also another option, planting certain plants can deter certain insects and prevent them from feasting on your plants or vegetables. Whether you already have a vegetable garden or are thinking of starting a veggie garden, organic is the way to go.

There are a lot of different options out there for organic or natural pesticides and home remedies. Just because they are natural, might not necessarily mean that they are not harmful in any way, they still have chemicals in them, just made from natural products, botanicals, and minerals etc. when mixed together to produce a pesticide, they may still have potential to be harmful to people or animals.

Different homemade pesticides may have different effects or target certain insects or pests entering the garden. Make sure you do your research and take into account what veggies or plants you have growing and what pests or insects are drawn to those, before making your home remedy.

Here are a few products that are used for a more natural pesticide:

Garlic, vegetable oil, organic dish soap (not one that contains bleach), hot peppers, tomato leaves, neem oil and many more. Make sure to do your research before mixing up your own home remedies and get advice from a gardener or farmer who has a recipe that works.

At the Living Earth farm we have been using Biogrow on our veggie garden and have seen great results – see our pics in this blog post 😉