Are you looking for some new ways to prevent next year’s bug problem from entering your glorious garden? Well you are in luck! You no longer have to wait until the spring or summer is upon us, you can actually start to prepare now, during the fall season!
Here are five suggestions you can do now to prevent those nasty pest problems from occurring next year:
1. Make Sure to Weed Your Garden One Last Time: In order to stop bugs, pests and creatures from hibernating and finding shelter within your garden during the winter months, it’s important to get rid of any excess weeds. Bugs, in fact, can potentially survive the cold winter if there is enough remains left behind for them to hide within, so save yourself some havoc now, and get rid of them early.
2. Pull All Annual Crops out of Your Garden: After harvest is complete, remove all garden debris and dead or diseased plant material out of your garden. Anything that is rotting, diseased or already pest-infected should be removed as quickly as possible. Just as insects will cozy up nicely between your gardens weeds, they will also find comfort and survive in your rotting garden remains.
3. Get Out the Rototiller & Start Tilling: Many insects will make their way into your garden soil once fall hits, and they will remain alive and buried there right up until the spring or summer time. Give those garden beds a good tilling once fall hits and wake those little critters up. Your ultimate objective is to bury the insects deep beneath the ground, so they are not able to resurface once spring and summer hits. Another added bonus is that you will be adding organic material back into the soil to provide an extra boost of nutrients to your garden!
4. Take a Soil Sample: It’s important to be aware of the type of soil that you are working with, and the best time of the year to figure this out is at the end of the summer – so now! You want to do this to make sure that your soil is strong and healthy, and in return will produce strong and healthy plants for next year that are less susceptible to pest problems. You can have your soil tested at a local garden or extension service, and from here, they will be able to guide you on your soils health quality.
5. Get Planning: Take some time to start planning next year’s garden now. If some of your plants were more prone to insects, perhaps moving those to a different section of your garden next year may help. Do some research into discovering pest-resistant varieties of your favorite veggies and fill yourself with as much knowledge as possible in order to prepare for next year. Knowing how to prevent insects can sometimes be enough just in itself!
It’s never too late or too early to start preparing for your garden, especially when it consists of insect prevention!
