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7 Plants to Help Control Pests in Your Kitchen Garden

Plants to Help Control Pests 



Worried about pests ruining your kitchen garden crops? Learn which herbs and vegetables to plant to control pests and keep those pesky pests at bay!


The joy of growing a kitchen garden in your yard is imagining the delicious recipes and dishes you will create using your home-grown herbs and vegetables. Do you know what stands in the way of that happiness? Errors. Gross, invasive, plant-eating, vegetable-killing pests! I see you, tomato horn! I will never forget the first time I grew tomatoes on a large scale. I would come out to look at my kitchen garden and see that some of my tomatoes were chewed up and others were missing leaves or the stems were completely bare. The culprit that year was the tomato hornworm, which cost me almost half of my tomatoes (and my mind). Needless to say, I didn't consider using plants for bug control at the time.


I've learned over the years that side planting (or companion planting) is a great way to help plants grow with each other. This is a great way for some plants to protect others from bugs and other pests. Here are 10 plants that can help control pests in your kitchen garden.


1 Basil



Basil is a great herb to plant near tomatoes, and really any other vegetable, because it repels houseflies, mosquitoes, asparagus beetles, and tomato hornworms. You can make your own insect repellent using basil by steeping the leaves in boiling water and mixing in some rubbing alcohol.


2 Chives


What if I told you you could enjoy your bagel with cream cheese and wedges and kick some beetle and aphid butt! Chives are high on the list of pest control plants in your kitchen garden as they repel pesky pests like carrot flies, Japanese beetles, and aphids.


3 Coriander/Cilantro



You say cilantro, I say cilantro! Anyway, this plant (while sometimes polarizing in recipes) is an excellent plant for bug control. Aphids, Colorado potato beetles, and spider mites won't stand a chance against this delicious (or soapy-tasting, depending on your genes) herb.


4 Fennel


I've said it once and I'll say it again, fennel is underrated as heck! Whether eaten raw, used in soups, or baked into cheese and breadcrumbs, it's an often overlooked powerhouse vegetable. Planted in your kitchen garden, this licorice-scented plant becomes a deadly weapon against aphids, slugs, and snails.


5 Dill



Dill is a generous herb, lending subtle flavor to everything from Grandma's potato salad to savory tzatziki, and don't forget roast potatoes. It's a great garnish for soups and roasted vegetables, and of course, a great addition to pickle recipes. Planting dill in your kitchen garden can help keep aphids, squash bugs, spider mites, and cabbage loopers at bay.


6 Garlic


Question: How to repel both vampires and rootworms? Answer: Plant some garlic! Garlic is one of the best pest-control plants in your kitchen garden. Garlic is an excellent companion plant for broccoli, cauliflower, and kale because it can help repel rootworms, cabbage loopers, Mexican bean beetles, and peach tree borers.


7 Radishes



One of my favorite ways to enjoy radishes is to thinly slice them with my mandolin and add a little salt and olive oil. That's it! I love the peppery flavor with a satisfying crunch. Radishes make great kitchen garden plants because they keep cabbage worms and cucumber beetles from invading your vegetables.

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