Pests in a vegetable garden come in a variety of shapes and forms, from ladybirds, caterpillars, scale and aphids to rabbits, cats, pheasants and blackbirds. The best way to protect against sucking insects such as aphids is to practise crop rotation, thus not allowing the pest to establish itself in any one area of your garden. Sucking insects tend to attack plants that are unhealthy or stressed, so keeping your soil fertile and not allowing it to dry out too much or become too wet is also part of the battle. Strong healthy plants will resist an infestation, and, if attacked, will often grow through the problem. Provide the right environment for particular plants to give them their best chance: e.g. garlic cannot stand long dry spells and carrots do not like fresh fertiliser or prolonged wet conditions. Caterpillars on broccoli and cabbages can be crushed between the fingers (not a very pleasant job), or avoided altogether by planting the plants when the weather is cooler and butterflies have disappeared. Covering plants with a clear light mesh is also worthwhile. To protect against rabbits and cats I have built mesh fences around my vegetable plots (see photo below). Because there is plenty going on elsewhere in the section that keeps them entertained, the fences are enough to put them off getting into the veges.
Blackbirds tear up the soil around seedlings, especially if you have just watered them in dry weather or have dug in compost prior to planting. The birds are more interested in worms than in protecting your plants, so foil their digging with a chicken mesh circle around each plant. Chicken mesh is sold in 150mm wide coils. Cut off a length of 500mm and join it into a circle by folding the edges back into each other. Place the circle over a seedling and secure it with four small sticks (see photo below). I use the prunings from my grape vine, which easily last the whole year.
Young seedlings planted in rows are often uprooted by birds. Protect them by laying bamboo poles or sticks along each side of the row (see photo below). Leave them there until the plants are larger and the roots have established firmly. Then use them for your next planting.
Another usefull tool to protect plants from birds is to hang some old CDs on strings above the plants. As the CDs rotate in the breeze, rays of coloured light disturb the birds as they flash around the area.
Click here to learn how to improve soil fertility by crop rotation.
Add nutrients to improve soil fertility.
Grow, train and prune table grapes.
Dig a new garden by the grid method.
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