All posts tagged: pest control

How to Murder Slugs and Other Organic Gardening Tips

The website Organicgardentips.com has so many organic gardening tips its almost overwhelming but its fun to read a few at a time. Here are my 25 favorites: #16. There is no need to work the soil deeply when adding compost or soil amendments. Eighty five percent of a plant’s roots are found in the top 6″ of soil. #22. Bare soil should not be visible around a new planting. Always cover with a layer of mulch, any coarse-textured, loose organic material. #25. Weeds? Spot-spray with common full-strength household vinegar, on a sunny day. It’s an organic weed killer that’s safe for you and the environment. #42. Use the least-disruptive and least-polluting protections against a pest. Try the following methods as applicable: first physical removal, barriers, and traps; next, biological controls; then, appropriate botanical and mineral pesticides. #47. Less than 2 percent of the insects in the world are harmful. Beneficial insects such as ground beetles, ladybugs, fireflies, green lacewings, praying mantids, spiders, and wasps keep harmful insects from devouring your plants. They also pollinate your plants and decompose organic matter. …