Organic Pest Control the IPM Way
It is not possible to keep nature entirely out of an open garden and gardeners have been waging war against pests from the time the very first gardens were laid out. Today there is a great emphasis on all things organic, reducing carbon footprint and adopting environmentally friendly gardening techniques. Earlier, gardeners would not think twice to zap pests with a pesticide. Today however alternative means of organic pest control are constantly being sought to combat the pest problem.
One of the latest methods is integrated pest management or IPM, which operates by way of knowing when a problem is likely to occur and also why it occurs. IPM then takes concrete steps to avoid the problem using low hazard control methods as required.
What exactly is IPM and how can it effectively be used as an organic pest control method?
The underpinning principle of IPM is the use of good old fashioned common sense in foreseeing what can happen in your garden and taking steps to avoid the problems. Further it helps solving a problem in the very early stages and bring it under control. The methods engaged upon pose the least hazardous threat to people and the environment. It is very effective against home vegetable garden pests and eliminates the need for pesticides.
IPM is best described as a system that operates along the following lines:
- prevention, how to prevent the problem from happening at all;
- monitoring, track to see if it is a one off incident or a real problem;
- analyzing, how much damage is too much and
- control, how to stop the damage from spreading.
If we take the first step prevention, you can prevent quite a few problems from happening by keeping your garden as healthy as possible.
Plant flowering and non flowering plants to attract the good insects to balance out the bad insects in your garden
Do research to know what sorts of insects and diseases prevail in your area – plant resistant varieties of plants to combat the problem
Set up crop traps and row covers to keep garden pests away
Crop rotation helps to reduce the pest problem
Use stakes to keep plants off the ground
Maintain a regular watering schedule to avoid drought for your plants
Be vigilant for diseased plants and get rid of them immediately
Then we move on to monitoring the plants. You need to monitor your plants with an eagle eye to know what exactly you are dealing with. In this way you will be able to find out whether the problem is just a one off incident or a real problem.
You have to monitor the plants regularly and be on the watch for pests. Some of the signs will be holes in the leaves, color changes and webs.
First identify the problem and then treat it; the problem could be disease, lack of nutrition, insect or rabbit damage. Pesticides are not going to do much to solve your problem!
Being vigilant the IPM way means you don't have to lose your entire crop and you can maintain a balance in your garden.
About the Author
Want to know more about pest control? Visit my website www.gardensetup.com for more information about organic gardening.
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