What Are the Best Ways to Control Garden Pests without Chemicals?

What Are the Best Ways to Control Garden Pests without Chemicals?

It’s December at the moment and back in the Netherlands, I would never have to worry about pest control at this time. But over here in Spain, my second crop is in the kitchen garden. And the grasshoppers have a field day on my plants.

Whenever possible I try to avoid killing insects. I prefer them to move over to the woods behind our house or to the campo (the Spanish countryside). But I also want to eat my harvest so if they are very persistent, I take bigger measures.

What are the best ways to control garden pests without using chemicals or artificial toxins? I have listed 10 methods in this article.

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Should We Pre-Germinate Seeds or Sow Directly into the Ground?

Should We Pre-Germinate Seeds or Sow Directly into the Ground?

Whether you should pre-germinate seeds or sow them directly into the ground, highly depends on the kind of seed, the season, or your patience.

I had a 4th reason to pre-germinate my beans this year because I wanted to show the process to my grandsons. They live in an apartment building and have a balcony that has some pots. I wanted to stimulate their enthusiasm to get started on their own.

Back in the Netherlands years ago as well as now in Spain I had tried several times to pre-sprout beans using methods I found on the internet. Until this year I rarely succeeded, they molded long before they sprouted.

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