Organic pest control

Someone left a comment on one of my posts asking the question . . .

"how do I keep bugs from eating my basil?"

I'm an organic gardener and don't use chemicals in my garden, especially on herbs and vegetables. 

There are several recipes that I've used to control pests, but the one that is very simple . . . a squirt of dishwashing liquid in a gallon of water (do not use Dawn or any other grease cutting dishwashing liquid). You can also add a teaspoon of cooking oil to make it stick to the leaves of the plant.

Something else I have learned to do is spray the plant with plain water with the spray nozzle on the hose . . . the spray of water will knock the bugs off the plant.

Another remedy is to utilize beneficial insects, such as ladybugs . . . they can be purchased at organic gardening centers and widely available online.

The key is to keep the leaves clean and check your plants often.

Most of these practices are good for indoor gardening as well as outdoors.

Check out my website, DonitaWorld.com, for lots of gardening pages.