There is a growing trend in Australia to sources organic food, and local food. This trend, in an  industry that is valued at $1.72 billion dollars is growing by over 15% each year.* Once of the best ways to grow your vegetables organically is to ensure that there is a diverse range of insects to create a natural balance in the garden.

A diverse range of plants in a vegetable garden will ensure that pollinators and beneficial insects are attracted. This is desirable as it helps to establish and retain the natural balance in the garden.

Things you can do:

• Plant flowers that have nectar and small flower heads. Avoid hybrid and double blooms as the insects have trouble getting into these.
• Avoid the use of pesticides – use organic alternatives
• Use certified organic seed to grow your plants
• Use organic soil mix if growing in pots as some mixes are treated with pesticides
• Let herbs go to seed to attract insects and pollinators
• Allow spider webs to form in the garden
• Provide water in shallow dishes – with stones to allow small insects to access the water
• Provide shelter via ground cover plants or an insect hotel
• Plant a wide variety of plants to shelter and feed insects

Beneficial Insects:

This is a small list of the some of the common insects you want find living in your garden. They will help to control aphids, thrip, caterpillars, and mites as well as snails and slugs.

• Lady bugs
• Praying mantis
• Assassin Bug
• Hover Flies
• Lacewigs
• Spiders (not an insect I know, but they are a valuable addition to the garden)

This site provides a helpful overview of some beneficial insects.

Plant these plants:

Planting these plants among your vegetables will provide shelter and food for beneficial insects

• Alyssum
• Cosmos
• Dahlia
• Dill
• Fennel
• Lavender
• Marigolds
• Parsley
• Sunflowers
• Yarrow
• Zinnia

Further reading:

This post provides some organic pest control ideas for Autumn and Winter, particular to white cabbage moth.

This post provides some tips on organic pest control in Autumn

 

Growing plants for food and shelter as well as physical structures and water to encourage the presence of a range of beneficial insects will have a positive impact on your vegetable garden harvests, reducing plant loss, time spent tending plants and create a natural balance.

What are you doing in your garden to encourage beneficial insects?

 

 

Reference:

* Australian Organic Market Report, November 2014 Australian Organic Ltd