I don't like seeing pests and diseases on my plants any more than the next gardener. But I resist the urge to grab a spray can every time I see a bug. In this chapter, I'll tell you how to cope with your plants' problems without resorting to the can.

Natural Systems

Diversity and stability are the secrets to a healthy garden, and intercropping is the key. I believe that mixed cropping patterns are essential in the garden. A diverse planting design allows for a richer and healthier relationship between plants and the environment.

Year after year, I've found that as long as I maintain diversity by planting in patches and blocks rather than planting long rows of monocrops, I don't have any major pest problems. Planting patterns like these encourage beneficial interactions between insect and plant life.

To get the most out of diversity, you should plant intensively. I plant most rows 6 inches apart, with in-row spacing even closer. This means that plants will barely touch each other when fully grown. If you alternate the rows with fast- and slowmaturing crops, the fast ones will be gone by the time the slow ones need room.

To improve the ecological stability of your garden, try experimenting with some of the following techniques:

Grow flowers in your vegetable beds to serve as food for natural enemies of pests. The flowers of certain plants like yarrow and Queen-Anne's-lace provide pollen and nectar for various beneficial insects.

Grow aromatic plants. They interrupt the feeding behavior and other biological activities of pests by masking the odor of the host plant.

Choose resistant cultivars. Many plants have been specially bred to resist the attacks of particular pests and diseases.

Plant hedgerows and shelter belts to provide a refuge for natural pest enemies. These plants can give alternate food sources for beneficial insects and predators.

When a garden is designed with diversity in mind, it's generally healthier because growing many different types of plants attracts beneficial insects that feed on destructive ones. A diverse planting also makes it harder for pests and diseases to find vulnerable crops.

Nontoxic Techniques

Nothing succeeds like success. As soon as you start letting a few simple nontoxic techniques go to work against insects, other steps will fall right in line and pest problems will dwindle.

If you're using chemical pesticides, the first thing to do is to stop, cold turkey. Without these poisons permeating your air, soil, water, and plants, some of nature's intended protection has a fighting chance to work. Helpful insects can go back

on the job.

Plants themselves respond to the advantages of a natural and balanced environment as well. They develop stronger root systems, and they regain their inherent resistance to pests that healthy plants have. Even birds come back on the garden scene to lend a hand and an appetite.