Question
how do we keep insects out of our garden without endangering pets and other wildlife?

thanks in advance - juli

Answer
If you have an organic soil that is well balanced in nutrient content, that will help a lot by making your plants more resistant to insects. Plants weakened by lack of nutrients are more susceptable to insect attacks, and plant diseases. Please visit our website for details on "soil building" for more detailed information.

Companion planting and intercropping will also help, since it will confuse the insects, who find plants by smell.  If you have a whole section of broccoli, it is much easier for them to find it than if you randomly plant them in your garden among other plants. You can also intercrop with plants that attract plants and are therefore "sacrificial plants" like nasturtium, which attract aphids.  If you intercrop with strong smelling herbs, it will repel insects.

If you have a pool or some source of water for birds, they will be attracted to your garden, and they will eat a lot of the harmful insects.

There are many sources on our resource/links page for organic pesticides at http://www.avant-gardening.com , and these are not harmful to pets, or people.

Good luck and happy gardening!