Clever Tricks

A drop of mineral oil on corn silk will keep out worms. Apply to tip of each ear when silks begin to brown, with a medicine dropper, pump-type oil can with a long spout, or a plastic dishwashing detergent bottle. Do it a total of about three times, once every five or six days. What’s lazy about this, you wonder? When you harvest the corn, most of the silk will come off with the husk for worm-free and silk-free ears.

If you can prevent plant disease with good cultural practices, then you’ll never need to use extra time to fight them: Read the rest of this entry »

Lazy gardeners are willing to let a few bugs eat. “I simply plant too much,” says one gardener. “I give my crops rich soil and let them fend for themselves. There are all kinds of bugs, and I don’t have time to fool with them, so if they eat half my chard, I eat the other half.”

“Most gardeners panic when they see one bug eating,” says another gardener, who chides the “spray-happy people who rain destruction on a whole garden for one squash bug. I usually let them eat, and spray only when a crop is really threatened. ” Insect pests will eventually come into balance with their natural enemies, he suggests. Read the rest of this entry »

Sayonara, Japanese Beetles

Hire your children to save the garden from Japanese beetles. Pay them a penny a bug. In the evening, when the beetles won’t fly away, the kids can tiptoe along and brush them from plant foliage into jars of kerosene. Bet they won’t even be able to count their catch! Meanwhile, you can relax with a long novel or take in the evening news.

If Japanese beetle grubs are destroying your lawn, introduce milky spore disease, a microbial attack against the larval form of this insect. A little energy invested this year is well spent. Put a teaspoon in the ground every three feet for several years’ protection. It’s death to the grubs, but leaves the earthworm population untouched. Read the rest of this entry »

Lazy gardeners are willing to let a few bugs eat. “I simply plant too much,” says one gardener. “I give my crops rich soil and let them fend for themselves. There are all kinds of bugs, and I don’t have time to fool with them, so if they eat half my chard, I eat the other half.”

“Most gardeners panic when they see one bug eating,” says another gardener, who chides the “spray-happy people who rain destruction on a whole garden for one squash bug. I usually let them eat, and spray only when a crop is really threatened. ” Insect pests will eventually come into balance with their natural enemies, he suggests. Read the rest of this entry »

“When I realized I could grow broccoli without ever worrying about worms again, I wanted to get up and dance!

No More Worms!

For a long time I didn’t eat much broccoli. I planted a lot of it but each spring when my broccoli was starting to head, a flockof small white butterflies appeared over the rows of broccoli and the other cabbage family crops. Read the rest of this entry »

Rotate the crop each year to avoid diseases that live in the soil. I like to wait 3 years, if possible, before planting tomatoes where I’ve had them before. I never plant tomatoes where I grew potatoes or eggplant the previous season, since some diseases attack all these vegetables and live in the soil from year to year.

Plant resistant varieties. Many varieties are resistant to verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt—two troublesome diseases for which there is no cure. Some seed companies list resistance to these diseases by putting “F” (fusarium) or “V” (verticillium) after the variety name. “N” stands for resistance to nematodes, the tiny worms that plague many southern gardens andcause stunting of the plants and poor crops. Read the rest of this entry »

We home gardeners are lucky. We don’t depend on the garden for our livelihood. Gardening is not a business for us. We don’t have to worry about keeping our crops totally free of blemishes and damage so they will bring top prices at the market. We can afford to share a part of the harvests with insects and not get upset by it. We can use and enjoy slightly damaged crops.

Check your garden at least every 2 or 3 days so you can spot bugs before they do much damage. When you see some unusual insect activity, take a good look at it. Be sure the bugs actually pose a serious problem before you take steps to control them. Read the rest of this entry »

PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Pests and diseases do not spread their ills evenhandedly throughout the plant world. Some plants, such as conifers, hardy annuals and shrub roses, are troubled rarely or never; others, such as bush roses, fruits and vegetables, may be affected by more than their fair share. You should bear in mind that the vast majority of pests and diseases can be tolerated — provided that the plants are healthy and well-fed and never allowed to go short of water. Do not underestimate the value of predatory insects such as hoverflies and insect and grub-devouring birds. Read the rest of this entry »

Most flowering plants are not much at risk as long as they are well cultivated. Among the principal sufferers are bulbs, and plants grown under glass, where pests and diseases particularly flourish.

Five troubles affecting roots

A number of insect pests live in the soil and feed on the roots of plants. Usually you do not know they’re there until leaves and shoots begin to wilt.

• Chafer grub Long fat creamy-white grubs with brown heads which feed on the roots of many flowers. If suspected, water the soil with pirimiphos-methyl or dust with gamma-BHC.
• Cutworm Soil-dwelling caterpillars about 4cm/I 1/2in long, creamy brown, which feed on roots and the surface of stems at soil level. Many border plants liable to attack. Symptom: wilting. Dust soil with gamma-BHC insecticide. Read the rest of this entry »

Many shrubs and trees are not much troubled by pests and diseases, although there are a few to watch out for. Roses have the most problems, especially the bush roses.

Four pests which make holes in leaves

These pests feed on the leaves, causing holes of various shapes and sizes. Caterpillars are the ones that usually cause most trouble.

• Caterpillars Caterpillars of various moths can cause a lot of damage to trees and shrubs — almost defoliating them in severe attacks. As soon as you see them, pick off by hand. In severe cases spray with fenitrothion, gamma-BHC or pirimiphosmethyl insecticides. The biological control Bacillus thuringiensis is also useful. Read the rest of this entry »

Some pests can cause serious damage to leaves and can strip a plant of foliage if not controlled.

• Capsid bug Pale green sap-sucking insect. Attacks shoot tips and young leaves of tree and bush fruits, leaving ragged holes. Spray the affected plants with systemic insecticide, such as dimethoate, after flowering or permethrin or pirimiphosmethyl just prior to flowering.
• Caterpillars The larvae of various moths can attack leaves of fruit trees, making many small holes. To control place grease bands around trunk of trees between mid-autumn and mid- spring to trap adult insects emerging from the soil; give the trees a tar-oil winter wash; spray against caterpillars with fenitrothion, bifenthurin or pyrethrins insecticides. Read the rest of this entry »

Birds usually create the biggest problem, but you should look out too for mites and weevils.

• Apple blossom weevil The small white grubs of this tiny brown beetle eat the central parts of apple flowers. Infested blossoms fail to open. Spray with permethrin as the buds are forming or fenitrothion as the buds burst open.
• Big bud mites Tiny mites that live in large numbers inside the buds of blackcurrants. Infected buds are swollen and round, and usually fail to come into growth. Pick off and burn; spray with benomyl fungicide in spring and early summer. Read the rest of this entry »

Crop rotation will help to prevent a build-up of the serious troubles listed here.

• Cabbage root fly Maggots eat fine roots of cabbages and relations, until all that remains of root system is a blackened rotting stump. Wilting occurs. Treat soil with chlorpyrifos/ daizinon or pirimiphos-methyl when sowing and planting.
• Carrot flyMaggots tunnel in the roots of carrots and parsnips. Treat seed drills with chlorpyrifos/diazinon or pirimiphos-methyl; carrots should be lifted as soon as they are ready to avoid damage from maggots. Read the rest of this entry »

Like everything in the home, your house plants will become dusty, and orchids are no exception. An accumulation of fine dust building up on the surface of the leaves will, if left for a long period, prevent the leaves from breathing properly and will impede the light which is so essential for a healthy plant. Periodically, at least once a month, this dust should be cleaned off using a wet sponge and a bowl of clean water, wiping each leaf and the stems and bulbs. The leaves can then be passed under a running tap. This will not only greatly benefit the plant but will also improve its appearance. Flowers and buds should not be dusted, these should be left well alone for fear of bruising.

Spraying

Many orchids enjoy a daily spraying of their foliage. In the home this is difficult for obvious reasons, but if the plant is removed from the growing area for regular watering, spraying could be carried out at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »