Nothing can crush a gardener’s spirit quite like pests and diseases destroying their precious plant babies. 

As growers, we put so much love and care into our gardens. Watching a vegetable plant get decimated by a pest or disease can feel so frustrating and discouraging. However, pests are a part of organic gardening, so finding ways to deal with them is essential. 

The good news is that your plants are so healthy that nature wants in on that delicious action.  If the bugs don’t want your plants, then it's time to worry. 

Here are 3 steps to take to help tackle pests in your garden.

1. Identify

The more often you are in your kitchen garden the earlier you will catch the first signs of pests and disease. While you are tending your garden and checking for the overall health of your plants you will want to look for a few signs of stress that could indicate pests. 

Look for holes or yellowing on the foliage. By and large the foliage on the plant should look green and healthy. If not, its time to investigate further. 

Most pests like to hide on the underside of the leaves or on the plant's stem. Look closely because many pests are excellent at hiding. If you see small bug clusters, caterpillars, or egg clusters than you have an infestation. 

Once you have identified the pest or disease it is time to take action.

2. Treat

There are a few organic treatment techniques that you can follow to help manage these garden nuisances. 

First and foremost we always like to work with nature whenever possible. Observe, prune, and support your plants. Plants have natural defense mechanisms to eradicate pests and sometimes all they need is a little support from you. 

When you first notice signs of pests, assess the damage. If the pest infestation is very minimal than consider taking two steps to help support your plant as it defends itself. First, prune the most damage and affected leaves from the plant. By doing this you are removing foliage that is no longer serving the plant and freeing up more energy for it to fight off pests. Remember to only prune up to one third of the plant’s foliage. 

Second, add compost to the base of your plant. This gives the plant a nice boost of nutrients to help strengthen themselves for their fight against pests. Lastly, observe your plant. Keep a close eye on it and make sure the pest infestation does not escalate. If things start to improve then keep supporting your plant with pruning and compost. 

Sometimes these steps can be enough. Especially when pests are caught very early on. However, many pests will persist and they can start to do serious damage to the plant. If you notice things worsening then its time to take further action. 

Consider trying some of the following, organic methods to treat pests.

• Hand pick and squish: this is exactly how it sounds and it works great for pests like cabbage loopers, squash bug eggs, squash bug nymphs, vine borer eggs, and cabbage looper eggs. Put on some gardening gloves and go bug hunting. Look under the leaves on the stem of your plants. Pick and squash. That’s it. It can be gross at first, but it sure is effective. 

• Soapy water: soap and water really solves so many of life’s problems doesn’t it? It’s no different with bugs. This method is great for dealing with aphids, cabbage loopers, tomato hornworms, adult squash bugs, japenese beetles, and cucumber beetles. 

  1. For aphids, fill a small spray bottle with small amount of dish soap, the amount depends on the size of the spray bottle but typically ½-1tsp is sufficient. Spray the aphids directly. Repeat daily for 2 weeks. 

  2. For beetles and large caterpillars- put a small amount of dish soap in a small bowl and fill the rest with water. For this method you can either hand pick and drop the pests in the water, which works great for large caterpillars. Or you can try knocking them into the bowl. This works for all types of beetles and squash bugs. Place the bowl under the leave and knock them in. 

• Neem oil: works on powdery mildew, aphids, and Japanese beetles. This can be readily found online or in local nurseries. Follow the instructions on the bottle for application. Spray the affected leaves as well as all the other leaves on the plant to help prevent further spread. You can repeat application every 7 days. 

• Diatomaceous Earth: works for soft bodied insects like slugs and caterpillar, but can also work on bugs that crawl like aphids and beetles. DT is a powder and needs to be applied to dry soil or leaves. For bugs that crawl on the leaves you can apply the powder directly to the leaves. For slugs and vine borers you can apply the powder to the soil near the base of the plant. 

• Monterey BT. BT stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, a common soil bacteria that can be used to kill certain garden pests. It is safe for pets and humans. BT is great to use against most caterpillars, like cabbage moths, and certain beetles like squash bugs. This spray is available online and in most nurseries. Follow the instructions for application. 

A note about the above products. All three of these products are safe for organic gardening. However, even organic products can have a negative effect on beneficial insects like bees, butterflies, and ladybugs. Be sure to follow the application directions carefully and consider applying during a time of day when most beneficial insects are not in the garden. The evening and early morning are usually good times. 

3. Prevent

Have you ever heard the saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? This is true even in gardening. There are things that you can do in order to help prevent pests which will keep your garden healthy and make your job as the gardener even easier. Here are a few of our favorite garden pest prevention techniques. 

Start with the good stuff. Use good quality soil and compost. Healthy soil makes for strong, healthy plants. Strong healthy plants can better protect themselves from pests and diseases. Try using a local, organic when possible, source for your soil and compost. 

It’s also a good idea to start with high quality, healthy plants and seeds. When plants get a good start in life, they tend to grow into stronger, healthier plants. Buy plant starts from local nurseries or better yet, from local farmers at the farmer’s market. These plants are typically grown with lots of love and care and are much healthier than plants you find at a big box home store. 

Regularly prune! Prune your plants often to help keep them healthy and pest free. Pruning can open up airflow around a plant which will deter some pests or diseases. It also helps to keep plants strong by pruning away less than healthy foliage and freeing up the plant’s energy for new healthy growth. 

Try companion planting. This is an organic planting method that pairs certain plants together in order for them to benefit one other by deterring pests or improving flavor and growth. Flowers like marigolds and nasturtium are amazing companion plants. They help to deter certain pests and they also attract many beneficial insects, like predatory wasps or ladybugs, that will prey on common garden pests. 

You can also cover your plants to keep pests off of them altogether. Use garden mesh or floating row covers to protect and prevent from pests. This method works great for flying pests like cabbage moths and vine borer moths. Just keep in mind that beneficial insects will not be able to access your plant as well. For plants that rely on pollinator, like squash, be sure to uncover plants when they are in bloom. 

Lastly, you can try to avoid certain pests by planting later in the season than you normally would. This can work for plants like cucumbers and summer squash. By planting late you might be able to miss the pests altogether. Timing is key here and it doesn’t always work, but it can be worth testing out. 

Pests can be very frustrating for a gardener. However, once you know how to identify and eradicate them it can feel a lot less intimidating once they descend upon the garden. Remember that they are a natural part of organic gardening and follow the steps outlined in this chapter to help keep your garden healthy and thriving.