A healthy, happy, well balanced, organic garden tends to have far less problems with nasty bugs than does a garden doused in noxious chemicals which, in knocking nature for six, actually encouraged harmful pests to move in.

The most common and, therefore, problematic nasties we have to deal with here in Pakistan and this far more in the plains than in the hills, are caterpillars, aphids, leaf miners, red spider mite and scale insects, the latter usually fully fledged armoured scale insects which have a distinct preference for trees and ornamental palms such as Kungi Palms which so many people appear to be surprisingly fond of.

There are, you will be delighted to know, organic remedies for all of these and, quite unlike chemical controls, they will not poison the food which you are, I sincerely hope, growing in your garden along with any ornamentals you happen to fancy.

First and foremost though, it is imperative that you pay full attention to maintaining tip-top, hygienic conditions throughout your garden: Do not leave potential hazards and breeding grounds for pests lying around hither and thither, things like discarded plant pots, infected leaves or obviously sickly plants as bugs home in on these and have the time of their lives. A clean, relatively speaking of course, garden with bug attracting hazards removed — not added to the compost heap — is a must!

Now for dealing with the nasties:

1. Caterpillars: Please keep in mind that caterpillars turn in to those butterflies which we all, even gardeners, love to watch as they float and dance abound the garden even if they happen to be cabbage whites whose caterpillars can devour a brassica patch in no time at all. The simplest method of organic control is to, wearing gloves if you like, check the underside of your brassica leaves each and every day and ‘rub’ off any patches of caterpillar eggs you find. If you don’t like this idea then mix up a spray of warm water and pure soap and spray, each evening when the sun is going down, both sides of the leaves with this. An even better idea is, as like all wild creatures, butterflies need protecting too, to set aside a small area of garden, even a corner, and allow caterpillars to do as they like there. You can also use either garlic spray or hell fire spray — recipes given at the end of this piece.

2. Aphids: For aphids of all kinds, garlic or hell fire spray will do the trick but, if you are lucky enough to have ladybugs/ladybirds around then let them do the job for you and only resort to the aforementioned sprays if necessary.

3. Leaf miners: These are the larvae of various kinds of beetles with burrow inside leaves — they adore tomatoes — leaving distinctive yellowish cream tracks in their wake. The trick is to catch them as soon as they make an appearance and, if not too many, simply squash them inside the leaves. If leaves are already heavily infected then remove these and dispose of them well away from your garden — not in the compost heap and do not toss them over the garden wall no matter how much you may fight with your neighbour — they may very well just toss them back!

4. Red spider mites: These thrive in humid conditions, plant leaves become mottled, yellow and fall and the presence of very fine webs gives the identity of the orange coloured mites away. Hell fire spray can work but, even better, and, I understand being trialed here now, is to introduce another mite, called Phytoseiulus persimilis which devours the noxious spider mite without itself harming the plant. These work best under greenhouse conditions but could work equally well inside the home if house plants are infected.

5. Scale insects: These are a major nuisance and, as well as heavily infecting things like mango trees can make a terrible mess when the larvae begin crawling around all over the place. There are two methods of organic control, neither easy. One is to smother the adults by spraying them with good quality cooking oil, olive or sunflower oil being ideal, spraying, every day until they are eradicated, ensuring to spray underneath the leaves as well as on the top, plus, on branches too. The other method, more applicable to smaller plants such as Kungi Palms, is to spray, every evening, with very strong coffee made from coffee grounds not the instant stuff. Scales hate this and, the coffee spray drips down and kills off any larvae or eggs hiding in the soil around. Getting in to the habit of doing this regularly, whether you see scales or not, is a good idea and the coffee grounds are good for the soil.

Recipes:

1. Garlic spray: Boil up a quarter kilo of garlic cloves, including skin, in one litre of water. Allow to simmer for approximately 15 mins. Leave to stand overnight. Strain through fine muslin cloth and spray every evening until pests are eradicated.

2. Hell fire spray: Mince or chop (I whizz through a blender, a quarter kilo of green chillies, the hotter the better, put in a sealable, clear container with a closeable lid, add one litre water, stand in direct sunlight and leave to ferment for 24 — 48 hours. Strain and spray but please wear gloves and eye protection as this is very strong, hot, stuff and do not spray on windy days. Use only in an evening.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. Answers to selected questions will appear in a future issue of the magazine. This takes time. The writer will not respond directly by e-mail E-mails with attachments will not be opened. Please note: The writer’s garden is not open to the public.