HELPFUL PLANTS:

Plant	Companion	Advantages
Basil	Tomato	improves growth, flavour; repels flies and mosquitoes
Garlic	Roses, Raspberries	improves growth;deters Japanese beetle
Lamb's Quarter	throughout garden, near corn	trap for aphids
Marigolds, esp. Mexican, African and French	throughout garden	discourages Mexican beetles, nematodes and other insects
Mint	Cabbage, Tomato	improves health; deters white cabbage moth
Nasturtium	Radish, Cabbage and other fruit trees	trap for aphids; deters squash bugs and striped pumpkin beetles
Wormwood	in perennial border	deters small animals and flea beetle

BUILDING A HEALTHY LAWN:

From Environment Canada http://www.ns.ec.gc.ca/epb/factsheets/12_steps.html The key to a weed and pest-free lawn is to build strength in your grass Overseed every year to create a dense lawn that will crowd out weeds Fertilize naturally with manure and compost Encourage good bugs: worms, lady bugs and spiders Mow less often. Keep grass 6 cm tall to crowd out weeds and grow longer roots When watering, allow the sprinkler to soak the grass, to build deep roots Rake out thatch to discourage pests Dig out any weeds by hand Learn to tolerate some weeds. Pesticides are not worth the health risks

Gardeners will require written permission from neighbours in order to spray near their property line. The only exception would be during a severe insect infestation when no other options exist.

The landscapers at the lieutenant-governor's residence don't use chemicals; neither do the workers at the Children's Hospital. At the luscious public gardens, landscapers use only things they wouldn't be afraid to put on themselves: they make insecticidal sprays out of soap, garlic, and rhubarb and fertilize with manure and compost. (see recipes below)

In Windsor, the parks department is killing unwanted weeds along fences with a focused stream of hot steam. With this method and others, they've managed to cut their pesticide use by half. And then there's the picturesque town of Hudson, Quebec. It passed a bylaw in 1991 to outlaw the cosmetic use of pesticides, not only on town property but also by all homeowners. But two lawn-care companies challenged the law in provincial court, saying it destroyed their business. The court ruled on the side of the town and upheld the by-law. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court of Canada, which sided with the town.

While some lawn care companies fight, others are capitalizing on people's worries. Many firms now offer organic lawn care that relies on the theory that a naturally strong lawn (built using many of the concepts in the sidebar at left) will not be susceptible to weeds and pests in the first place.

There are also the possibilities that science holds. At Montreal's McGill University, scientists are developing a fungus to kill dandelions. The fungus enters different parts of the plant and after seven to 14 days, kills it. But it's still in the trial stage and a few years away from store shelves.

There is one other approach to gardening that is gaining acceptance: let it all hang out. Halifax resident Helen Lofgren decided to do that many years ago. She has a yard with an herb and vegetable garden surrounded by every weed imaginable, even the much-maligned dandelion, which she says makes a lovely salad leaf. Lofgren thinks instead of killing weeds, we should embrace them.

"I like to see the way it evolves in the way natural things do," Lofgren says. "The insects and the birds and the plants all come to an equilibrium." It may not work for everyone, but for Lofgren, it's where she says she feels safe.


From:   http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/pesticides/alternatives.html