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I have dug over a patch of good ground in my allotment and dug in lots of good compost and it's now ready for veg plants but there seems to be a lot of crawling insects .can you suggest a general bug killer that I can water the ground with prior to planting ?




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PLEASE don't! Many of those 'crawling insects' will be beneficial ones, in fact, as a general rule of thumb anything that moves around quickly is a predator while the stationary or slow movers are pests. To douse your soil with insecticide is not a good way to start and will tend to kill both predators and pests at the same time, meaning any subsequent pests will have no natural controls.
I have gardened completely organically for two decades, ten years here, and although when I arrived there were lots of problems with aphids, flea beetle, cabbage root fly and even Colorado beetles, now there are few problems as there is a natural balance.
As you plant your vegetables, include small patches of flowering plants that attract pollinating insects, such as Phacelia or English marigolds (single flowered types). This will bring beneficial insects like hover flies and ladybirds into your garden.
It may take a while for the natural balance to be built up, but in the longer term it is well worth it.

28 May, 2012

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