I remember the first time I set up my kitchen garden and finished sowing. The joy in the germination, of seeing something grow is the best. I would talk to my plants every day, water them lovingly, and carefully follow all the advice people gave me, to keep them healthy—adding compost, avoiding overwatering, and sticking to companion planting guidelines.

But then they struck!!! PESTS. About a month in, I noticed tiny black insects covering the stems. I later learned they were aphids. Over the years of kitchen gardening, I’ve battled mealybugs, aphids, stem borers, fruit flies—you name it. Some seasons have even ended in complete crop loss. As recently as this season, all my broccoli buds were devoured by webworms.

One of the biggest pet peeves for kitchen gardeners is pests! That’s why most kitchen gardening melas are packed with pest control products. It inspired me to write about pests—and I hope what I’ve learned helps you as much as it has helped me.

What are pests?

Insects that feed off plants for their survival. Our brains have been hardwired to feel uncomfortable at the sight of insects, but a peep into the food chain helps one visualise the role of these pests in the whole ecosystem. The problem arises when they start to damage our plants. 

Read more: Bengaluru’s insects and arachnids: How to understand their world and make friends

In organic kitchen gardening, we need to understand the insects that come to our garden. I believe that no insect is bad for the garden!

Broadly speaking  insects are categorised as harmful or beneficial. We tend to consider pollinators such as bees, butterflies as “beneficial insects”, and the herbivorous insects feeding on plants are harmful. Ideally both these (pests and beneficial insects) are essential to keep each other in check. Nature takes care of them, we just need to provide the ideal setting or as I like to call it, a “welcoming home” for all the insects, as they are the primary residents and we are just the caretakers.

The natural cycle of pests?

When we start kitchen gardens, the ecosystem is often unbalanced — there are no bees, no predatory insects — just plants, which naturally attract herbivorous insects, aka pests. Like humans, plants become more vulnerable under stress: cloudy days, overwatering, or poor nutrition can lead to pest and disease attacks. Insects also have preferences — some target leaves, others go for stems or specific plants like tomatoes, chillies or gourds.

Pests tend to multiply rapidly when food is abundant. This early phase often overwhelms new gardeners, leading many to uproot plants or turn to chemical solutions. But if you wait, nature begins to balance itself. Soon, you’ll spot beneficial insects too — ladybugs, lacewings, beetles, and mantids, quietly entering the scene. Though fewer in number, they are powerful allies; a single ladybug can eat 50 aphids a day and over 5,000 in its lifetime.

Their presence might not be obvious at first, but soon, the pest population begins to drop. And that’s the start of a natural food web. Agroecologists recommend at least four levels of this web for a stable garden ecosystem — something every kitchen gardener should aim for.

Read more: Living and learning with Nature: Experiences from home

Pest control measures

1. Diversity of plant species and varieties: A key principle of organic gardening is diversity — having a mix of (heterogeneous) plants; vegetables, herbs, flowers, tubers, etc. It also helps to space out plants of the same kind, creating a natural barrier for pests to navigate. In my modest 60 sq ft garden, I grow nearly 20 different plant species — and this variety has made a noticeable difference.
2. Following suitable growing conditions:
   • Choice of plants – should be based on weather and sowing season.
   • Spacing is critical, as it can lead to either undernourishment or attract pests.
   • Watering – too less can stress the plant and excess can lead roots to rot.  A soil moisture meter can help solve this issue.
3. Bird perches: Birds do play an important part in pest control. Having bird perches and water baths can be beneficial. In some parts of urban India, the ecosystem is so degraded that pigeons are the only birds around—and they often wreak havoc. In such cases, use bird nets to protect your plants from pigeon damage.
4. Leaf concoctions and buttermilk sprays: Concoctions like Dashaparani Ark can be made at home using easily available resources from our surroundings. Fermenting buttermilk for a week, then diluting and spraying it on leaves, can help control whiteflies and viral diseases in nightshade plants. An even simpler method is to liquid compost the leaves of the below-mentioned plants in water, dilute the mixture, and use it as a natural pest repellent.

Plants with leaves that repel insects:

5. Pheromone traps: Sometimes, controlling certain insects becomes difficult. A common culprit is the melon fly, which lays eggs in flowering plants like gourds and tomatoes. By the time you harvest, you may find white worms inside the vegetables. If this becomes a recurring issue, pheromone traps can help by attracting and trapping male flies, reducing their population over time.

I hope this helps for people looking to understand how to deal with the pests. I know that people have a lot more solutions to pests, but the idea of this article was to help you realise that pests and gardening are different sides of the same coin. The objective, as I see it, is to be agroecological gardeners and not prescription gardeners.

Also read:

• My journey as an avid terrace gardener
• A beginner’s guide to square foot gardening— the future of terrace gardening