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Insects and Aphids and Bees, oh my! (Organic Balcony Gardening)

Living in a loft or condo doesn’t mean you can’t have a healthy, thriving organic garden. In fact, it’s much easier to work with nature than to fight it. Toxic pesticides actually poison your plants and kill all the bugs in your garden, including the good ones. And yes, there are plenty of good bugs that you want to visit, live and breed in your flower beds.

Here are a few things to keep in mind before you start. First, evaluate the micro-climate of your balcony. Which way does it face? Is it a southwest exposure with lots of sun? Or does it face northeast and receive only partial sun or complete shade? Once you know that, a good garden centre can help you pick the plants that match your conditions.

Next, pick your containers carefully. Make sure they’re big enough as very few plants do well in small pots. You need enough dirt to allow the plant to grow throughout the season. Anything can make a good container as long as you punch drainage holes in it so the roots don’t rot. When you water, make sure it drains out the bottom. After 20 minutes, pour out any that’s left.

Though not all of those creepy, crawling critters in your garden are pests, the trick is knowing the good from the bad. The good include ladybugs (especially their larvae), lacewings, parasitic wasps, hover flies and of course, the true flower child, the bumble bee.

The bad include aphids, spider mites and whiteflies. These pests can kill a garden if they’re allowed to take over but there are a few simple solutions for controlling them. For aphids, use a forceful spray of water to knock off as many as you can. Then squish a few aphids around the infested plant. The chemicals released make the other aphids drop from the plants. Finally, put a bright yellow pan in a strategic spot and fill with water. Aphids are drawn to the yellow colour, land in the water and drown.

The easiest way to control spider mites is to keep your garden well watered. Spider mites attacked stressed plants and under-watered plants are easily stressed. If needed, use a mixture of a ½ ounce of coriander oil and 24 ounces of water. Spray as thoroughly as possible and re-apply for a few weeks to make sure you’ve got them all.

If you shake your plants and see a flurry of little white bugs, you’ve got whiteflies. One of the simplest solutions is a seaweed spray which not only makes the foliage unattractive for whiteflies but has added organic benefits for the plant.

It’s the small things in life that matter, including those that creep, crawl and fly. But providing an environment that keeps the natural cycle of life spinning is no small thing…and it can start with you.