I’m growing tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers for my first time not on a balcony, and I’m a tad concerned about caterpillars, squirrels, and other wildlife finding their way to my crops; that said, I would like to keep my space as earth friendly as possible, so chemical pesticides are out. I’ve read blog articles about trimming the lowest branches to prevent disease and planting trap crops such as nasturtiums and marigolds to lure pests away from the tomatoes. Do these techniques actually work? How do other gardeners handle this situation?
My yard backs up to a canyon, so I have all kinds of critters running around. The rabbits are easy to keep out with a chickenwire fence. I grow marigolds and green leafy plants to attract green lynx spiders. The spider gal last year put in a lot of work protecting my garden. It’s also attracted a few mantises here and there, which is helpful.
Rats are a major problem for my tomatoes. I grow the tomatoes in an Earth Box, so I used green fencing that the rats couldn’t get through and just wrapped it around the whole thing. Thankfully, this year should have fewer rats because the neighbors got rid of their giant bird of paradise where they were nesting. There is also no pile of wood between the houses, another nesting place.