Question
dear Mike,
HELP!!!i have, it seems, many simultaneous problems. First of all, i m not in the US. I live in greece. I started last year to grow a "garden" in my balcony, since the weather here is ideal. But while planting some seeds last week, i noticed some grey little pin-head sized insects, with tiny legs, running around everywhere in the soil. After checking in the other pots, i realized these are everywhere(but only in the soil). But, as i was checking at the leaves of different plants, i noticed (A) little bugs 1 mm large black and sometimes green, slightly round, with legs, and some with wings, always in a gathering on the leaves and (B)some leaves (on the jasmine plants) being "glued" together with some cotton-like sticky substance, on those leaves many very tiny black spots(not looking like having legs or anything) and when opening the glued leaves a transparent thin 5 mm larva with slightly brown head chewing on my plant!!!!!
now, i have, i think, identified the (A) bug as aphids. But the rest is a mystery...and i dont know what to do!!I want to treat them and preferably with an organic method.
Thanks a lot(sorry for the length)

Answer
Vassia, there are organic controls available to deal with insects. Organic alternatives include insecticidal soaps, summer oils, pyrethrum, and rotenone. Any of these control mites and aphids very effectively, and all are non-toxic to humans and pets. I have attached a web site, "Gardens Alive!", which carries all of these products as well as several others. They even have a pest glossary with associated controls.

http://www.gardensalive.com

One gardening tip I learned years ago is to plant garlic and marigolds randomly around my plants. The smell from these plants repels aphids and is also an effective deterrent against white flies and mites. I started this routine three years ago and have had no insect problems since.

I hope this helps. Please write again if you have any other questions.

Regards,

Mike