Susan Mulvihill: The Vegetable Garden Pest Handbook

Sustainability Book Chat

Bugs are an inevitable part of gardening, but we have lots of options for dealing with them. In this episode gardener Susan Mulvihill, author of The Vegetable Garden Pest Handbook, talks about organic methods of handling pests in our garden.
We discuss the principles behind integrated pest management, and the importance of identifying bugs before taking action. Susan gives us examples of management practices you can employ to reduce the pest burden on plants.
We also talk about the fact that not every "natural" pesticide is safe. Susan explains some of the "dangers" of using some natural products such as diatomaceous earth and neem. And she talks about some of her favorite natural control methods, as well as the concept of "bug tolerance."
Full show notes here -- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/the-vegetable-garden-pest-handbook/