Bugged by pesticides? No worries. Metro natural gardening specialist Carl Grimm offered us safer solutions to summer garden problems.

Destroy tomato diseases with air and eggshells
Pruning dead leaves and thinning plants help increase air circulation and decrease the spread of disease. Crushed eggshells and compost add calcium to the soil, a key to preventing blossom end rot and other diseases.

Annihilate aphids with water
No need for toxic pesticides when a blast of water will do the trick. Spray aphids right off your plants, leaving any survivors for birds and ladybugs to eat.

Crush cabbage butterflies before they hatch
Inspect the undersides of broccoli, cabbage and kale leaves, squishing any small, yellow, almond-shaped eggs that sport tiny ridges. But leave the smooth eggs, which likely belong to ladybugs.

Leap ahead of leaf miners
Leaf miners eat their way through the middle of chard leaves, leaving somewhat transparent, whitish tunnels in their wake. Squish their teeny white eggs, often arranged in neat little rows. Cut off affected leaves, and beat the bugs to the punch by harvesting only the younger leaves.

Plant flowers, especially native ones, to attract the birds and bugs that will help you win the fight against pests!

Learn more about effective, pesticide-free gardening with Metro’s free workshops and publications, including the booklet Natural Gardening. For details, call Metro Recycling Information at 503-234-3000 or visit their website.