The Kitchen Gardener’s Guide to Pests & Allies

This planning tool helps vegetable gardeners manage pests by working with nature rather than reacting to problems after they appear. Pests are part of every garden, but many can be kept in balance by attracting the insects, birds, and amphibians that naturally feed on them. Our garden allies!

By including certain plants in and around the kitchen garden, you can invite beneficial insects that help reduce pest pressure while also bringing more beauty, diversity, and life to the garden.

The plants we recommend are easy to acquire, grow, and integrate into backyard or rooftop vegetable gardens, even if you're working with small raised beds or containers. While there are many other plants that will also attract beneficial insects, these are our top picks for the kitchen garden.

For more on this approach and related garden practices, read “Planting to attract the good guys.”

To use, select the crop you'll be growing or the pest that frequents your garden to learn about which beneficial insects to attract and what to plant to do so!

Signet Marigold interplanted with Swiss Chard to attract nature’s pest control.