Bug Off - Controlling Garden Pests and Diseases

This focused workshop dives into practical, realistic strategies to keep pests and wildlife from wrecking your hard work. You’ll learn how to use netting and physical exclusion methods for vegetables and fruit trees, how to choose the right materials, and how to set them up so they actually hold up in real life.

From there, we move into organic treatments, simple recipes, what they do, how to use them safely, and what signs to look for before you reach for the spray bottle. You’ll learn the timing piece too: when to intervene, when to hold off and how to read the early signals of pest or disease pressure.

We wrap it all together by looking at prevention: soil health, plant strength, microclimates, and the conditions that make a garden naturally resilient. Expect clear explanations, real examples, and techniques you can put into practice the moment you get home.

Youth Offer

This workshop is suitable for teenagers, accompanied by mum, dad or another adult guardian, who has also paid to attend the workshop.

About the Facilitator

Doreen Jachmann is the founder of Nourished Landscapes, and is a permaculture consultant known for designing resilient, productive gardens and full property transformations. She specialises in edible landscapes, healthy soil systems, practical design, and turning outdoor spaces into places that actually nourish people.

She brings a hands-on, multisensory teaching style to every workshop, blending clear explanations, tactile demonstrations, and real-world experience from years of consulting across South East Queensland. Her work ranges from concept landscape designs to full regenerative installations, fruit-tree management, kitchen garden systems, and education for homeowners, community groups, and interns.

Doreen is passionate about helping people grow healthy plants, reduce overwhelm, and build confidence in their gardens.