pest control gardening

Organic Pest Control Gardening for Greenhouse Gardeners

Eating organic produce is a growing trend in today’s eco-conscious and health centric world.  To that end, many families have turned to growing their own food at home so they can ensure a completely organic diet, and greenhouse gardening is one means of growing produce almost year-round.  However, even the strictest organic gardener must have some method of controlling common garden pests.  In this article, we’ll explore some organic pest control methods for greenhouse gardeners.

One of the major benefits of greenhouse gardening, aside from the obvious fact that your gardening activities can be extended into cooler months of the year, is that a greenhouse provides a physical barrier against some pests.  For example, moles, rabbits, and birds will not be an issue when cultivating plants in a greenhouse.  Greenhouses do also provide some added protection against various insects, though it is still possible to have infestations of common garden insects inside a greenhouse, so we’ll focus our organic pest control methods on insects.

One of the easiest ways to repel insects is through companion planting.  Almost every variety of insect has an aversion to some particular plant or another.  For example, marigolds planted among beans or potatoes will repel Colorado potato beetles and Mexican bean beetles.  Chives or garlic planted among lettuce or peas will deter aphids, and nasturtiums planted throughout your vegetables will deter a whole host of pests including cucumber beetles and squash bugs.  This is only a very small example of the various types of plants that can be paired together to repel pests.  For a more complete list, refer to a gardening resource book or website.

When companion planting doesn’t work, it may be time to take your organic pest control to the next level: applications.  There are numerous organic products on the market that can be applied to your plants to deter garden pests.  Simply make a visit to your local nursery or garden center and you’ll be presented with an array of options ranging from predator urine in concentrated form to various fish oils and soaps.  Without spending a lot of money, one inexpensive homemade application is a mixture of water and dish detergent.  Begin with a very weak mixture, approximately 1 tablespoon of dish soap to a gallon of water.  Spray carefully onto a few leaves of one or two plants, and then watch the plants closely over the next day to be sure the foliage doesn’t die back.  If the few sprayed leaves respond well, then you can spray the solution over the entire plant, making sure to spray both the tops and bottoms of all leaves.  If this doesn’t kill the insects, you may need a stronger solution, up to 3 tablespoons of soap per gallon of water.  Just be sure to carefully test each stronger solution on a few leaves before spraying all over your plants.

When all else fails, manually picking insects off your plants can be effective, too, if the infestation hasn’t gotten too out of control.  Pick off all adult insects, and be sure to gather any eggs and larvae as well.  If you do this twice daily over a period of a week, you should notice the damage to your plants reduced considerably.

There is no doubt that organic gardening will continue to gain in popularity as the world becomes more aware of environmental and health concerns caused by chemical pesticides and fertilizers.  Growing your own produce at home is easy and inexpensive, and greenhouse gardeners who want to go organic shouldn’t be deterred by concerns about garden pests.  There are many tried and true methods of organic pest control that have worked for farmers for centuries, and they will work for you at home, too.

What air rifle should i get for pest control?

Im new to shooting but ive got pest in the garden eg magpies/pidgens/rats/rabbits ect , I’m looking to get an air rifle to get rid of them but i dont know what air rifle i should get.Ive been looking on the internet and ive found the smk b2 .22 cal for 40 quid but i don’t know if it is a good gun or not,Can any of you people who are shooting experts please help me choose what rifle i should get and what make and where from.

Provided your gun delivers enough impact energy to kill cleanly, it doesn’t really make much difference if you use a .177 or .22 caliber air-rifle for small game, within reason. Both are capable of killing small game at relatively close range (15-30 yards). At longer range (40+ yards) a .22 caliber pellet’s greater weight means it will perform better since it will retain more energy, penetrate more deeply, and leave a larger wound channel.

Since you referenced a price in pounds, I’m going to assume you’re British. That means that unless you have a firearms license, you’ll be limited to rifles generating 12 ft-lbs or less of muzzle energy. However you’ll need a rifle that can generate at least 5 ft-lbs of impact energy for rabbits. You’ll probably want something in the 9-12 ft-lbs of muzzle energy range. You can find a number of rifles in this category which can still take game including:
- the Crosman 2100
- the Daisy 22SG
- the Benjamin 397
- the Benjamin 392
- Beeman HW30
- Crosman 1760SE
- Crosman 2250B
- Crosman 2260
- Gamo Carbine Sport
- Webley Stingray
- Air Arms S200 Sporter
- Air Arms S400H

Any of those rifles should have enough energy to hunt small game with and still avoid the need to have a firearms license. Personally I’d recommend the Crosman 2100, Benjamin 392, Gamo Carbine Sport, or either of the Air Arms offerings (which will probably be the most expensive option. Happy hunting.