Green ways to combat pests

Emilia le Roux shares green advice on fighting off vegetable villains.

• Snails I scatter finely crushed dry egg shells around young seedlings – but since a family of frogs took up residence in the pond in my garden I haven’t seen many snails around.

• Aphids As soon as you spot these plant suckers on the leaves, squirt them off with a strong jet of water. When you are dealing with black aphids it’s a great idea to attract them to one sacrificial plant from which you don’t harvest fruit. Nasturtiums and nightshade work well in my garden.

• Red spider mite Plants are especially susceptible to red spider mite in dry conditions and when the air circulation around them isn’t good. I deal with this by positioning a sprayer under the plants and spraying them from below. In the Cape I have realised that the earlier in the season you plant your vegetables, the fewer the pests you have to deal with. Remove all leaves in autumn so that the mites have nowhere to spend the winter.

• White rust This causes light-green to yellow spots on the tops of the leaves and a powderiness underneath. I make a tea of stinging nettle and comfrey to deal with this problem: chop the fresh leaves finely, place them in a bucket with water and leave to steep for a week. I use 1-2 cups per watering can and pour it over the leaves.

• Late blight This destructive fungal disease is caused by cool, damp weather. The leaves, leaf stalks and stems of the plant turn brown and die, and the fruit develop dark, oily spots. Never plant potatoes near tomatoes, as they also carry this fungus. Most sprays only work preventatively, so remove the sick leaves as soon as you notice signs of this condition. If this doesn’t help, you’ll have to uproot the tomato plant and burn it.