You work so hard in your garden to make it beautiful. It would be a shame if your garden became sick. Yes, they can become sick if you aren’t following healthy garden practices.
Don’t let disease and pests ruin all that hard work. There are cultural practices and proactive activities you can do to maintain a healthy garden. Keep insects and disease at bay by following these tips:
- Water regularly and evenly – This will ensure your plants are healthy and can stave off disease and attacks from insects. Water in the morning, not in the evening as disease spreads in chillier temperatures.
- Prevent weeds and grass from infiltrating your garden – As mentioned above, water will keep your plants healthy. Weeds can weaken your plants by stealing their water and nutrients.
- Mulch to prevent splash up and weed control – Splash up will allow fungi and disease to attack your plants.
- Stake your tomatoes and vined plants – Grow your plants such as cucumbers up from the ground to make it more difficult to attract disease.
- Wash your equipment off after working in the mud – Yes, disease travels on your tools and can over-season on them as well.
- Use beneficial insects – There will be more on this in another post, but in general beneficial insects eat insects and parasites. In addition to beneficial insects like lady bugs and praying mantis, use sticky traps, which are an organic preventative measure.
As always, visit us at Stockslagers Garden Center to discuss with our specialists how to maintain a healthy garden.
