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“My biggest challenge this year is keeping pests away from my cukes, cabbage & eggplant!”

Horning in here, because, well, it’s my job! :)

You can use Rotenone Dust on those veggies. It’s completely organic, and kills ‘em dead. It’s so safe, you can use it on your pets (and kids!) as a flea and tick preventative and you can also use it on Raspberries to kill the Japanese Beetles, if you’re so blessed.

http://www.biconet.com/botanicals/roi.html

It’s not allowed for use in CA where the REAL EnviroWackos reside, but it is safe for the rest of us that live in the Real World. ;)

(I wouldn’t steer you wrong. I sell TONS of it each season with no complaints that it doesn’t do the job; and believe me, my customers are religious about complaining about everything, LOL!)

Another thing you can do, if you really want to be “organic” is to make your yard a wonderful eco-system. It will take a number of years, but the idea is to promote birds in your yard as much as possible, and also draw in the Good Bugs that will do the dirty work for you.

Shady nooks for bird feeders with lots of cover (Dogwood is good, as are spruce trees and a few others, if you’re interested) and fresh water in a birdbath each day.

A few dead trees on your property aren’t a bad thing. Woodpeckers will live there and eat GOBS of bugs for you.

Cool, shady spots with “low” water (old bird bath tops on the ground, even an old pie pan or an old casserole dish buried at ground level) will fill your yard with toads; AWESOME lethal bug hunters.

A row of my (not patented...yet!) “Beneficial Bug Mix” planted in the garden brings in the Good Bugs that eat the Bad Bugs:

Fennel
Orange Cosmos
Dill
Blue Bachelor Buttons
Cilantro
Borage

Let everything flower and go to seed and you only have to plant the row once in Zone 4/5 or warmer.

It works. What can I tell ya? I’ve spent a dozen years improving the “environment” on my 2 acres and I NEVER have any bug problems. Never a single bug bite out of a vegetable, or a leaf.