By Sonya Welter

Urban gardeners have some advantages over their rural counterparts, and one of them is that there are fewer mammalian pests in the city.

Urban gardeners will have to deal with fewer deer, who will trample their seedlings and mow their lilies and hostas down to the ground.

Urban gardeners are also less likely to encounter bears, who will tear down bird feeders and strip berry bushes and fruit trees.

But rabbits are an almost universal pest in all but the most urban of gardens. Sure, they’re cute when they’re merrily gamboling in the front yard, nibbling on dandelions and clover, but they’re less cute when it’s your lettuce or Read the rest of this entry »

By Sonya Welter

“Feed and the pests will come,” seems to be every gardener’s motto.

We may never see a pest but as soon as we plant the first tomato or pepper the swarms seem to appear.

But a unique concept of feeding and nurturing nature’s insect task force will bring even the novice gardener relief.

The concept is simple provide shelter, water, and food for beneficial insects and let nature take its course. So try a beneficial insect border around your garden and see how nature works without chemicals. Who knows you may decide to do a whole beneficial insect garden to reward nature’s insect task force.

SWEET ALYSSUM (Lobularia maritima)

This annual is low growing and produces white flowers that can form a border in a flowerbed or can act as a fast-growing ground cover that vegetables can be planted into. Many studies have shown that sweet alyssum is highly appealing to aphid eating hover flies.

CUP PLANT (Silbium perfoliatum)

This perennial grows Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanesa Richins

Sometimes you might find tiny insects flying around your kitchen or houseplants.

There are two main culprits to consider - fruit flies and fungus gnats.

Most of us are familiar with fruit flies.

These pesky tiny nuisances always seem to appear when you have fruit in the kitchen for more than a day or two. They have a very short life span, so they reproduce quickly until a small cloud forms.

I had always heard that one way to get rid of fruit flies was to use vinegar. I tried balsamic vinegar with little success. On the last round, though, I bought a bottle of apple cider vinegar, which I put into a bowl. The fruit flies were soon drawn into the bowl, where they promptly drowned.

I’ve heard of traps that are a little more intricate - jars with small holes poked in the lid, filled with vinegar and honey. Some use bottles covered in plastic wrap. No matter what method, I would highly recommend Read the rest of this entry »