Environmental Pest Management (EPM) for organic food gardening is responsible environmental stewardship. Although EPM is modeled after the older Integrated Pest Management (IPM) it doesn’t allow use of toxic chemicals that are banned under the USDA organic standards. Contact your local botanic garden information service OR state university agricultural extension for help to identify treating pests. But only use the organic safe sprays we recommend in this post. Learn more about our growing method in two recently revised blog posts.

Biodiversity planting methods harness the forces of nature to help protect your garden as well as individual plants from pests and disease. Think of the plant populations as a team with complimentary skills all cooperating together. Balance and a strong ecosystem are achieved for the whole community of plants.

Succession planting is a popular farming and gardening method which gets maximum harvest from limited space by immediately filling empty spaces with new seedlings or seeds. Succession planting Increases your harvest and is part of our biodiversity planting method.

Garden tools play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy and beautiful garden. They help us till the soil, plant seeds, trim the plants and keep the garden in pristine condition. However, if not properly maintained and sterilized, garden tools can spread diseases and pests from one plant to another, leading to significant damage and loss. In this blog post, we'll discuss the best ways to sterilize garden tools to keep your garden free of any harmful organisms.

The brassica family of vegetables, which includes broccolini, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, and kohlrabi, are susceptible to various pests and diseases. See our lists below of (1) common pests and diseases affecting brassicas in Northern Illinois and (2) safe organic pesticides best used to control them.

Suburban organic gardeners in Illinois usually protect their Brassica crops (kale, collards, cabbage, etc.) from cabbage moths and their caterpillars. But, brace yourselves for a new Brassica family pest challenge. The swede midge fly (Contarinia nasturtii), an invasive pest from Europe ,has begun wreaking havoc on brassica crops including also radish, horseradish, rutabaga, turnip, rapeseed (canola), arugula, bok choy and Chinese cabbage. Crops that are most damaged include common favorites such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, collards and Brussels sprouts.