Diseases, insects and other critters will try and invade your vegetable garden. Don't let them get the better of you or your veggies. Start with a defense against garden pests and be prepared to treat whatever problems might occur.
Radishes can be one of the easiest vegetables to grow and they certainly are one of the fastest, but there are a handful of problems that can plague home gardeners when trying to grow radishes. Luckily, all of these problems are avoidable if you grow your radishes in good conditions.
Powdery mildew and other fungus diseases of plants have long been treated successfully with a mixture of baking soda, water and and oil or soap to help it spread.
Companion planting is an age old gardening technique of pairing two or more plants to gain some type of benefit,: vigorous growth, higher yield, repelling pests or attracting predators of common pests. Some companion plantings work, others disappoint. But the idea of strength in diversity is never truer than in the garden and that’s what companion planting provides. Here are some tips for attracting beneficial insects and for companion planting with herbs to repel insect pests.
Researchers at Texs A&M have discovered that cornmeal has powerful fungicidal properties and is effective on all kinds of landscape fungus problems, from turf grass to black spot on roses. Here’s how to apply cornmeal to treat fungus problems in your garden.
Cucumber vines that mysteriously wilt and die off are probably infected with bacterial wilt. Cucumber bacterial wilt is transmitted by the cucumber beetle. There’s not much you can do once the vines are infected with cucumber bacterial wilt, but you can take some measures early in the season to protect your young cucumber plants. Here’s help for cucumber bacterial wilt.
Preventing disease in the garden is easier to handle than curing it, with some tips from University of Missouri Extension.
Not all plant problems are caused by insects or diseases. Sometimes an unhealthy plant is suffering from a nutrient deficiency or even too much of any one nutrient. Plant nutrient deficiencies often manifest as foliage discoloration. The following chart outlines some possible problems.
Profiles of the most commonly used organic garden pesticides, including Sevin, insecticidal soap and oils and neem.
Another organic control has been added to the vegetable gardener’s arsenal with new studies that show adding worm compost can cut down on damage by sucking and chewing insects like aphids, caterpillars and mealy bugs.
Squash vine borers find their way into the stem of squash plants, causing them to wilt suddenly and eventually die. There are signs to look for to avoid squash vine borer damage and ways to control the damage if squash vine borers do attack your vines.
Tomatoes are subject to many common problems. Many tomato problems does show themselves until the fruit starts to ripen? With blossom end rot, green shoulders and tomato cracking, what can be done to save the ripening tomatoes? How can these problems be reduced with future tomatoes?
There are many diseases that affect tomatoes. Tomato diseases are often weather dependent and can spread rapidly. Here are some common tomato diseases, their symptoms and what to do if tomato diseases threaten your home vegetable garden.
