Workshop Module 6: Home and Community Gardens 173Water saving techniques
- Always water very early in the morning or late afternoon.
- Garden borders.
- Mulching.
- Windbreaks.
- Bamboo or plastic water bottle watering pipes.
- Bamboo irrigation.
Weed control
- Mulching.
- Plant ground covering vegetables.
- Create weed barriers around the outside of the vegetable plots.
- If you turn over the soil less, then fewer weeds will grow.
- Animal tractors.
- Any weeds that do grow should be removed before they produce seeds.
- Grow productive weeds.
Pest control
- Pest control in the garden is not just about removing pests.
- To control pests in a sustainable manner use many different techniques which
will improve soil quality, encourage pest predators, and prevent pests. - If pesticides are needed, natural pesticides should be used, not chemical
pesticides.
Note: If the garden is changing from using chemical sprays to organic methods, then
pesticides will need to be used as often as chemical pesticides until other pest control
methods such as improving soil quality, encouraging pest predators, and preventing pests
restore a better balance. Then even natural pesticides only need to be used rarely.