Organic pest control can be a difficult area for homeowners and new vegetable gardeners to navigate. There are many products on the market today that promise to ensure your crops have no pest problems, but often the majority of these products contain harsh chemicals that can be harmful to people and the environment. There are however a number of plant-based pesticides, natural insecticides and natural fungicides that you can use to protect your vegetable garden plants from damage.

Natural Pest Control For Vegetable Gardens

Keep your veggie garden in good shape

• Use organic fertilizers. Applying compost and other organic fertilizers to your vegetable garden will help keep your plants healthy and vigorous. The nutrients that these fertilizers contain are broken down by microorganisms in the soil, so they can be absorbed more easily by the roots of plants, where they’re needed most.
• Make sure you have rich soil. A good layer of topsoil is essential for growing a successful vegetable garden—in fact, it’s one of the key elements in any healthy growing environment! But if your soil isn’t dense enough to support plant life, adding compost or peat moss will help improve its structure so it can hold more moisture and nutrients for healthier growth.
• Don’t over-fertilize! Remember: too much fertilizer isn’t always better than just enough! While adding some kind of nutrient-rich material—like manure or compost—can be beneficial for improving plant health and growth rates (especially during early stages), too much can cause problems like increased risk of disease due to excessive moisture retention/excess salt buildup around root zones as well as toxic buildup from high levels of nitrogen compounds found within such materials which may poison both humans/animals consuming them directly through ingestion (eats) but also indirectly via inhalation exposure if burning occurs nearby while using breathing apparatus while working outdoors near heat sources during hot weather conditions where temperatures rise above 100°F/40° Celsius).

Use physical barriers for natural pest control.

• Use row covers.
• Floating row covers.
• Hot caps.
• Seedling collars.

Use mulch to protect your plants from pests.

Use mulch to protect your plants from pests.

Mulch is a great way to help protect your garden from pests and diseases, as well as keep the soil cool and moist, but keep it away from the stems of plants. If you choose bark or wood chips for your mulch, make sure that they are finely chopped so that they don’t scratch up the stems of vegetables and fruits like berries, tomatoes or apples. You can also use straw or hay if you want something more neutral looking in terms of color than black or brown bark would provide.

Practice crop rotation for natural pest control.

Crop rotation is the practice of planting a particular crop in the same area of the garden each year. It helps to keep the soil fertile and reduces pests, both insects and diseases. This can be achieved by planting different crops in different parts of your garden every year (soil will still have time for new growth), or by simply rotating between various sections on your plot. One option is to plant leafy greens along one side of your plot (or down one aisle if you have an indoor herb garden), then move them after they’ve been harvested and replant another vegetable in that spot. You can also rotate fruit trees so they don’t grow where they were planted last year; when moving tree trunks around make sure there is plenty of space between them so that sunlight reaches all sides at once!

Find natural pest controls in your kitchen

Mixing liquid dish soap with water and spraying the leaves of your garden plants is an easy way to deter pests. This is especially effective for repelling aphids, spider mites, squash bugs and leafhoppers. For best results, use 1/2 teaspoon of liquid dish soap to a quart of water in a spray bottle. Spray the tops and bottoms of leaves and stems where these insects tend to congregate most frequently.

Entice beneficial insects to stay in your garden.

• Ladybugs, ground beetles and lacewings are all beneficial insects that can help control pests in vegetable gardens.
• To attract these insects to your garden:
• Plant flowers to bring the bees, hoverflies and butterflies that feed on them. These will also provide pollen for other beneficial insects.
• Provide water for beneficial arthropods to drink by placing a shallow dish or pan on the ground near your crops or in the middle of a raised bed garden. This will also encourage predators such as spiderlings (spiders) who will eat many insect pests that may otherwise be damaging your crops.
• Provide shelter from the sun under trees and shrubs; underneath old boards, stones or other debris lying around the garden; in piles of dead leaves; under piles of straw mulch (not hay) placed over soil between rows of plants or around individual plants within rows; among rocks set aside for just this purpose; between crop rows etcetera wherever there is an opening where ants cannot enter easily but where mites might be found crawling about freely during daylight hours when most birds do not hunt them down because they cannot see very well during those periods due to bright sunlight reflecting off white sands around beaches where these particular birds tend to feed most often during summer months when temperatures become too high inland areas away from oceanside locations where all but coastal regions tend toward more moderate temperatures which allow less precipitation falling consistently throughout

Attract birds that eat pests.

The best way to keep the pests at bay is to attract birds that eat them. If you have a vegetable garden, you can do this by providing birdbaths and nesting boxes for them, but also by putting out bird feeders for them whenever possible.

You’ll want to make sure that your bird feeder isn’t too close to your other bird-attracting devices so that they’re not competing for food or water sources (and also because it will discourage other unwanted pests from coming into contact with the birds). You want to leave enough room so that both types of insects or animals can get what they need without being anywhere near each other; this will help keep those annoying flies away!

Keep in mind that if there are any unwanted guests in your garden (such as mice), then these little guys may eat some of the seeds before they have time to germinate properly—so don’t put out too much seed! And definitely don’t let seeds fall onto moist ground where they can become moldy overnight—if this happens then it’s game over because then no one gets any food at all!

Plant insect-repelling plants near your vegetable garden.

There are a number of plants and flowers that can repel pests, such as herbs with strong smells. As an added bonus, they also help attract beneficial insects to your garden. Some examples include catnip, basil, mint and lavender.

Other plants can be used to keep pests away from certain vegetables or fruit trees by scenting the area around them and deterring the pests from coming close enough to damage the plant’s leaves or fruit. For example:

The best way to have a healthy vegetable garden is to practice natural pest control and attract helpful bugs, birds and other critters

The best way to have a healthy vegetable garden is to practice natural pest control and attract helpful bugs, birds and other critters.

• Keep your garden in good shape
• Use physical barriers for natural pest control
• Use mulch to protect your plants from pests
• Practice crop rotation for natural pest control
• Find natural pest control in your kitchen! (if you want)
• Entice beneficial insects to stay in your garden!