Gardener shares simple hack that keeps pests off her vegetables: 'Well done'

Soul food chef Crystal Burns (@crystyle82) thought she found the secret to keeping one of her favourite crops in the garden healthy and shared the tip with her TikTok followers. 

The scoop

"I think I may have found a hack for keeping the slugs and nasty bugs off the collard greens," Crystal said at the start of her video. "Not a slug in sight," she said while examining the leaves. 

@crystyle82 Natural pest control for the garden #gardening #urbangarden #fyp #pestcontrol ♬ Summer and Brunch - ruuka

In short, Crystal planted lemongrass next to her collard greens. Crystal has been fighting these slug infestations for years. She said the lemongrass has even been more effective at keeping pests away than physical netting. 

Crystal had marigolds and basil planted nearby in the same bed, which provide similar repellent traits. As an added bonus, lemongrass also keeps mosquitoes away. 

How it's helping

Companion planting, like Crystal has done here, is a common way to manage pests naturally, without having to resort to toxic pesticides. That means when you're growing edible plants like collard greens, they're healthier to eat than if they were sprayed. 

As an added bonus, you're also being kinder to the local environment. Pesticides are largely indiscriminate and can kill all sorts of beneficial microbial life in garden soil. These pesticides are also leading to a steep decline in pollinator populations, which we need in order to ensure plants keep reproducing. When rinsed away, pesticides can add harmful forever chemicals into municipal water supplies. 

What everyone's saying

Crystal's TikTok followers loved the advice of using lemongrass to keep slugs at bay. The community even had a few extra tips to toss out.  

"I did plant some herbs too and I've noticed a reduction in bugs too. I planted mint, thyme and rosemary," said one community member. 

"Well done! Basil is helpful at keeping the pests away. Gotta try the lemongrass!" said another. 

What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Not enough time ⏳ Not enough space 🤏 It seems too hard 😬 I have a garden already 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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