How to use trap crops to protect your garden from pests
Feel free to take the wisdom to use trap crops in your garden. To understand why this is so important, you only need to introduce the concept first
Becoming a Nature Gardener can be said to be your ultimate goal.
There are many ways to get there, and none of them will be easy. That is the honest truth. There can be bugs or bad weather in any season, which gives you less than the best harvest, but that doesn’t mean you have to resort to chemicals to “fix” nature.
There is more than one way to garden organically
You can walk with the rotations of the moon, go in the path of the permaculture garden or mix some features of the sub plantings.
Then, you can add a pinch of crop rotation, throw in the ducks' dung for organic pest control, or attract hoverflies and beneficial insects. And do not forget about the use of cover crops. You will never find the right way to do it However, you need to take some steps to avoid damaging the insects. If you try everything and feel that nothing works, the answer you are looking for maybe trap crops.
The work of trap crops or sacrificial crops, as the name implies. In essence, you are planting another vegetable in anticipation of a predator to keep your high-value crops safe.
Most garden pests have a favorite food.
Take flea beetles for example. They adore eggplant, mustard, rocket, radish, horsetail, and more. From season to season it is not always easy to know what they like most.
There are two main ways to use trap crops
1. Plant the same species as a trap crop
Usually, you can grow the same crop that you are trying to protect earlier than your main crop. As we mentioned, fresh plants are eaten first.
This gives you time to start growing the first crop in your garden and attract anything that wants to eat it. Then you can destroy it (some say chemicals, alas! - instead try a natural soap-based solution) or burn those first crops or throw them in the trash with insects.
2. Plant different species as a trap crop
Another strategy in trap cultivation is to plant another, more attractive species to attract the bad ones or the undesirable ones.
Depending on the insect, the web can be used to prevent invaders. You can remove insect culprits by hand.
Also, note that you do not need to harvest anything from your trap crop.
With this mindset from the beginning, you will not feel the loss of the harvest. There is only so much leftover in the vegetables that you really want.
The important thing to remember about trap crops is that you do not want to kill everything that comes to eat in your garden.
What you want is to attract beneficial insects that can do the job better than you. Bringing pollinating pests into your garden.
Work together with a little at a time in your planting input and give nature an independent rule.
Choosing where to plant your crops can be time-consuming.
Examples of trap crops
To get its essence, we all know that the potato attracts potato beetles. Bad little things. Plant the dandelion with your potatoes.
Blue hyacinths can also be used as a trap crop for pumpkin borers, cucumber beetles, and pumpkin pests. This works best when planted around the edge/border of your garden to protect indoor plants.
Plant hot peppers with your sweet peppers to protect them from pepper worms.
Sow beans and other legumes to control leafhoppers, spider mites, and leaf beetles.
Plant gourd greens at the edge of your garden to protect gifted cabbages from cabbage worms and diamondback moths.
Nettles often attract numerous aphids in early spring. This is followed by beneficial insects such as lacewings and ladybugs.
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