mushrooms and slugs are overtaking my garden Help

by Lisa Scully
(Fairfield Maine)

I need help fast for the overtaking of my garden from mushrooms and slugs. My plants are going to die and some already have.

Ant problem in garden

by rene
(Ellerslie, Victoria)

I have 4 old water tanks turned into no dig gardens. These are great, however i have a problem with Ants.
They seem to be everywhere. in the garden itself and the pipe we have around the top to stop us cutting ourselves. We would love to know any natural remedies to get rid of them.
thanks Rene.

How to protect broccoli from pests

by stephanie
(dover, de)

In the past, i've tried growing broccoli... after about 3 days something has eaten every leaf off the plants. What is the best pest control for broccoli?

Will ladybugs or mantis take care of these broccoli pests or do I need to use another solution?

Thanks!

Tiny black ants in garden

by Jill Cooper
(Riverdale, GA)

I have amended the soil next to my driveway in about a ten by two section and was getting ready to plant seeds today - used my garden fork to loosen the soil and there were millions (really!) of tiny black ants.

Will they eat the seeds? Is there something I can use to get rid of them (and keep them gone) in that section of my yard? I plant organic so don't want to use any poisons. Thanks!

Seedlings disappear overnight

by DeLaine
(St Helens Tasmania Australia)

I have a very nice organic garden happening at my new home of one year. While the garden produced very well last year, this year as I planted seedlings, they would disappear overnight. I don't have possums or others of nature's children in my area so I looked elsewhere.

Would birds be eating my seedlings (cauliflower first then the cabbages were next. I have applied my homemade bug repellant) but nothing seems to be working. What's getting to my seedlings? Could it be something IN the soil?
Thanks
DeLaine

Bugs on tomatoes and beetles on squash & cabbage

by Antoinette
(Nashville, NC USA)

Can anyone tell me how to get rid of the tomatoe bug naturally on my plants?

Can anyone tell me how to get rid of the pesky beetles that take over my squash or cabbage family plants each year.

Stopping squirrels from stealing fruit from trees

by Claire Gilbert

How can we keep tree squirrels (Eastern fox squirrels--non-native in California) from stealing all our fruit from the trees in our orchard? Any scents that will repel them? We've succeeded in fencing out the deer from our veggie beds (with an 8 foot fence), but the squirrels also drop in here (adjacent to the orchard) to steal tomatoes.

Keeping animals out of garden

How do you build a strong enough fence to keep those pesty animals away!

Megan replies... I'm not sure where you are writing from, so it depends what sort of animals are pestering you!

In many countries there are burrowing and digging critters, such as gophers, moles and squirrels. Building a raised garden of about 65cm (2ft) high with ½ inch aviary wire on the bottom, or digging down and putting a mesh layer underground (hard work), is a solution.

For the likes of raccoons and possums, a good strong fence might be the only way to keep them out. A special floppy fence has been successful for keeping possums out of gardens. Read how it's done on this Pests page under opossums.

You'll also find other tips about cats, dogs, deer, moles and keeping animals out of gardens on that page. ~ Megan

Identifying bennies (beneficial insects)

How can I identify which insects are helpful? - does anyone know of a good website. Specifically I would like to know about catterpillars - I am trying to attract butterflies, and dont want to kill one accidentally!

How to keep chickens out of garden?

by Dianne Brehaut
(Blackheath NSW)

I do enjoy your newsletters and have just had a good read of the link on pests and recipes for sprays. I have a problem with chooks - my own chooks, which I like to let out in the late afternoon for a wander and a peck about.

Trouble is, instead of wandering in my vast back yard, which is still a bomb site waiting to be turned into a garden, but with lots of lovely potential for foraging hens, they choof off around to the front garden where they love to scratch in my mulch and make a dreadful mess on my paths.

Building protective fences is not really an option for us at this stage, (our property is quite vast and not a fence in sight) and I don't
want to not have them free ranging like this.

Is there a harmless way I could stop chickens from scratching in my garden mulch? If not I guess I will just have to continue restoring order to the front beds each day. Many thanks
Dianne

How to destroy mole crickets

by Karin da Silva
(Swakopmund, Namibia)

How can one destroy mole crickets?

Preventing squirrels from ruining new garden

by keith lunn
(stockport)

how do i prevent squirrels from ruining my new veg garden