Brian Minter offers up tips on keeping pests and disease, a normal part of growing a garden, at bay.
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So, we’ve all worked hard to get our gardens planted and growing, and it’s nice to be harvesting early peas, lettuce, spinach and Swiss chard, as well as kale, cabbage and nugget potatoes.
Unfortunately, while in the garden, we may also be discovering a number of pests and some disease damage that could potentially ruin an entire crop. Such challenges are a normal part of growing a garden. Experienced gardeners know what to look for and how to minimize problems and, in many cases, how to prevent them entirely. The adage — an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure — is certainly true in our gardens. Whatever the issue, it’s important to handle it in an environmentally conscious way.
The No. 1 preventive action is keen observation — not weekly, but daily. If we observe our plants carefully, we can quickly spot damaging insects, like aphids sucking the goodness from the soft tip tissue of our vegetables, roses and perennials. Small problems, such as these aphids, can be quickly and easily dealt with, usually by picking off the infested foliage or by simply spraying the offenders off with a water hose.
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The best control for aphids of all types is fast action. Squashing them or spraying them off with water usually does the trick. For established infestations, first, hand destroy and wash off as many as you can; then use Trounce, a Safer’s Soap organic control. When used continuously, this fatty soap product will slowly control aphid and many other insect populations.
Mildew and other fungus diseases on roses, perennials, annuals, small fruits and veggies, especially squash and cucumbers, can be frustratingly problematic.
The best preventive steps for dealing with this situation are:
• Choose varieties that have good mildew resistance;
• Make sure they get maximum sunshine from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
• Plant them in areas with good airflow;
• And try to water only in the morning and moisten just the soil, not the foliage. To avoid fungal issues, it is very important to keep plant foliage dry at night.
• It is also wise to prune or thin out excessive foliage from fast-growing vegetable and ornamental vines to avoid crowding the plants and inhibiting airflow.
If you see a touch of mildew on some of your plants, immediately pick off or cut away the infected foliage. Then use a preventive spray, like garden sulphur, a couple of times, about five days apart. It’s always best to use two different sprays for a more effective measure because fungus can quickly develop an immunity to one spray. A new Scott’s product, called Garden Defense, is an effective, biodegradable copper fungicide.
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If you see those cute little white cabbage butterfly moths flitting about your brassicas, you need to immediately cover your plants with a floating row cover or use a bacterial spray, like BTK, once a week to control their fast-hatching larvae which will chew holes in leaves almost overnight.
Many folks are buying imported ladybugs, hoping for an organic predator solution, but according to a well-known Canadian entomologist, they are not our native species and are being depleted in their natural habitat. It’s best to attract and keep our native species by planting cosmos and calendulas.
White flies, that seem to gravitate to cucumber, tomato and squash plants, can be controlled by using yellow sticky tape around your plants. This is an amazingly effective control but start it before you have a significant infestation.
The infamous carrot rust fly is discouraging many folks from planting carrots, which is unfortunate, but all that’s needed is a little strategy. The adult flies in B.C. emerge between mid-April and mid-May. Yellow sticky tape will indicate if you have any of these black-bodied, yellow-legged, red-headed adults. Usually, the first generation in the Lower Mainland is finished by mid-May, so plant your carrots out later and harvest before mid-July to avoid the second generation. For later crops, use floating row covers to prevent the adults from laying eggs.
The pesky flea beetles eat holes in bean, tomato and potato leaves, and like carrots, if you plant later in May, you will avoid the early populations. Using row covers will help prevent them from laying eggs, and it seems they love hot, dry conditions, so keep your soil moist, particularly around beans and potatoes. Petroleum jelly on cardboard is also an effective, natural trap.
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Even though they get blamed for plant damage caused by other insects, sow or pill bugs usually do little harm. In larger numbers, they will eat roots and young seedlings, but they are actually one of the ‘good bugs’ as they break down organic matter. If they become problematic, keep your garden clear of debris, like old boards and pots, because that is where they hang out.
Leaf miners are an all-too-common pest that can quickly ruin the foliage of spinach, Swiss chard and lettuce. These insects burrow into the middle of the leaves to lay their eggs. When the tiny larvae hatch, they proceed to skeletonize the foliage, making it inedible. A floating row cover on top of these vegetables will prevent adult leaf miners from laying eggs. If you see any evidence of damage, immediately hand-pick and remove those leaves or parts of the leaf to minimize the problem.
Slugs and snails thrive in cooler, damp weather, and although they move slowly, they do get around our gardens and chew virtually everything. Daily slug checking is a good idea. There are eco-friendly controls available today, but honestly, putting coarse materials, like lava rocks and coarse bark, around our plants forces them to use more slime to propel themselves than they care to use. And yes, beer in shallow dishes works — it attracts and drowns these pests.
Here are a couple other simple, yet effective, preventive measures. Apply lime now around tomato plants to help prevent blossom-end rot. A bird bath and bird feeder will attract a number of different bird species — depending on the type of food in the feeder — and they are great allies in controlling harmful insects.
By paying close attention and by employing these suggestions, you will be able to enjoy your garden bounty with much less stress and worry.