Yes it is September but you still have vegetables growing in your garden along with flowers that are still blooming. It is not time to relax on your pest,weed and plant disease control. I am going to present some ideas here how controlling these by natural means is a better way. This of course,like anything else, does not always work and even I have resorted to chemical means on more then one occassion. It is, however, better to begin the natural way.

garden to eliminate those pests problems before they have a grip on your garden plants. It all begins with planting healthy plants and the proper soil that promotes a good garden life. This will produce plants like those in the picture with a much greater and vigorous resitance.

FIRST IDENTIFY

the annoying pest before squashing,stomping or spraying. You can review some of the predators by clicking here you can review the most common insects at the page or you can go to the additional review of more pests here Here you can find more harmful critters in your garden This will give you the idea of what to look for in harmful pests.

IT IS GOOD TO

allow nature to work first as these harmful pests are food for useful insect populations. I would look for such good insects like lace wings that eat aphids,scales,mites and other pests. Lady beetle larve feed on similar pests along with ground beetles.

THERE ARE MANY

ways to control pests by using trapsor barriers or you can easily remove large insects,such as Japanese Beetles,by hand with a bucket of soapy water. I would make one comment here about Japanese Beetle traps. As far as I am concerned these traps attract every beetle from miles around so I stopped using this method. Below I have listed some generic and least toxic pesticides.

THESE ARE A FEW OF THE MINIMUM TOXIC PESTICIDES

• HORTICULTURAL OILS

• HORTICULTURAL SOAPS

• SULFUR

• BAKING SODA

• IRON PHOSPHATE SLUG BAITS

WEEDS IN YOUR GARDEN

The very first rule of thumb is to stop weeds before they have a chance to multiply. Weeds love bare soil and neglected garden areas. If you don't plan to use an area for awhile, then plant a spreading ground cover. If your planning a garden for a barren area te utlize lots of mulch to smother any weeds.

There is always the tried and true physical control. We use this method quite often in our garden. It is best to pull or hoe these weeds go to seed or the invasion will become an infestation. Long handled pincher weed pullers work really well with taproots like dandelion and thistle. I don't recommend those propane weeding torches because of the always present fire hazard and you can also burn your feet which really is an unpleasant experience.

HERBICIDES WITH LOW TOXICITY

Now if you really have an aversion to weed pulling there is one really good low toxcity herbicide in the form of corn gluten. This byproduct is a result of milling for animal feed. Corn gluten does help in the prevention of growing weeds and surprisingly acts as a ferilizer for growing plants. It has several name brands so ask at your local garden shop.

There are herbicidal soaps and vingear but both can damage leaf cells and dry out your plants. These must be carefully applied early in the morning or very late in the afternoon or evening once the intensity of the sun has abated. It is better to procure diluted versions of these products or in the case of vinegar dilute it yourself with two tablespoons to a quart of water. There is more information at both of thes pages concerning weed control and weed identification. A lot more informaton on weed control available here by clicking on this.

This will assist in identifying the most common weeds appearing in your garden just click here.

SOME NATURAL DISEASE CONTROL FOR YOUR GARDEN

Now one of the most unrecognized contributors to plant disease is poor air circulation. This is the result of overcrowding your plantings to the point where not enough air exists to keep the top of the plant relatively dry with moisture lingering well after a rainfall or hose watering. We are guilty of this,including me, when garden space is at a premium.

As I have expressed time and time again don't hose down your plants from the top. It is better to aim your watering at the roots of the plant where it is really required. Air circulation is most important in the health of your plants.

SOIL AMENDING WILL AID IN PREVENTING PLANT DISEASES

If your experiencing the constant battle that the soil requires a lot of watering,your soil is craving more organic matter and maybe even some mineral assistance to aid in breaking up the tight compact look and feel of your soil.

The organic matter is the same always a good mulch. The mineral part can be achieved with the addition lime,gypsum,fossilized kelp for for calcium or other products recommended by your garden shop. The calcium breaks up that compacted soil and allows the water to reach deeper into the soil giving your plants the opportunity to achieve deeper roots and save on your watering bill. The mulching will also loosen the soil at the surface and allowing more water to enter the soil preventing a lot of runoff of surface water.

I feel that the best disease and pest control is the growing of healthy happy plants. Practicing these simple procedures will prevent most diseases. for more information see plant diseases by clicking here

HAPPY GARDENING!

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