Get Rid of Garden Pests Part 1

One of the biggest problems I get asked about is how to get pests out of the garden. Whether it's squirrels hiding snacks in your window boxes or fungus destroying you zucchini, pests can be so frustrating that many a gardener has thrown in the towel all together. Don't let this happen to you! If you can follow some common sense gardening practices we'll get into and embrace nature (i.e., things being less than perfect) then there is no reason to stress about a few pests.

I'm going to break this down into three posts. First, we'll talk fungus and disease. Second, I'll get into bugs. Finally, we'll tackle animals - squirrels, voles, rabbits,, dear, etc. As with all things gardening, no one person knows everything so I'll include a few links to further reading at the bottom of every post. If you have any questions, be sure to pass them along by emailing me or touching base on social media.

What is more frustrating than watching your garden die? Not being able to see the culprits because they are so tiny. Fungi, bacteria and disease can reek havoc with your plants. The shear magnitude of specific plant plagues that exist in the US alone makes addressing any one particular infection impossible but here are some great tips to protect your garden from disease in general.

First, buy healthy, disease resistant plants. Plant nurseries are generally pretty good at labeling which plants are naturally more disease resistant. Believe me, I would gladly pass on bigger, prettier flowers or vegetables that supposedly produce a higher volume of food in order to get the disease resistance. Also, and most nurseries are good about this too, check over any plant for signs of disease or insects (wilting, yellowing, spots, actual bugs, etc)  before bringing them home.

Second, provide a healthy garden environment for hardier plants. A cucumber plant growing in good soil with a nice layer of mulch and plenty of sunlight is going to be able to fight off disease much better than a cucumber trying to eek out a life in dry, scorched soil. Compost, mulch, water and light are your best friends.

Third, don't plant too densely. I am so guilty of this. Having limited space, I will cram in far more plants then I should. However, fungus loves damp, enclosed areas so thinning is essential. You really want the sun and breeze to penetrate into your garden so it's well aired-out.

Finally, rotate your plants every year. Quite often, specific disease will only thrive on one kind of plant and it can sit in your soil all winter just waiting for you to plant the same thing in the same place in the Spring. Don't indulge them! Come up with a plan to rotate your garden on at least a three year cycle. For those of you with extremely limited space, you may want to consider growing something different each year with the small garden you have.

If you've found other ways to get rid of harmful fungus and disease in your garden, I would love to hear about it in the comments below. For further reading, check out these links:

Understanding Plant Disease

Organic and Biological Treatment of Plant Disease

Treating Plant Diseases Naturally