Posted by Jim Wallace
More and more people are now growing their own vegetables. In the media, there is usually news on how plants and vegetable are grown for the mass market. Normally due to profit considerations, optimum care is not always given during the growth process. And various chemicals may be utilised to maximise the economics of the business. The result is the production of food that may not be the best food for human consumption.
With home grown vegetables, the gardener will know the exact steps and the chemicals used in the production cycle. Chances are the best practices will be utilised to produce high quality vegetables. And any doubts about the quality of found in shops, need no longer apply. There is simply no need to buy the produce from stores.
However, taking care of plants is not the easiest of things. With experience, a gardener, becomes seasoned at the art. For the novice, however, there are many pitfalls. One of the most important things a gardener can do is to prevent pests. When growing plants, the gardener, should be vary of some of the following pests.
Whitefly. These are a real nuisance to the gardener, they damage the plants by sucking out the juice. As they infect the plants, foliage becomes unhealthy and changes to a yellow colour. The gardener should be on the constant lookout for the whitefly by gently tapping the plant. If any infestation is discovered, the effected plants should ideally be removed from the crop and sprayed with necessary chemicals to kill the intruding flies.
Slugs. These are found in areas where there is moist, they usually come out at night as its during this part of the day the moisture is greatest. Slugs can literally wipe out an entire crop of plants overnight, care should be taken to make sure months of hard work are not jeopardised. There are many treatments available to combat slug. For example, there is the copper wire treatment and also the use of chemicals such as Nemaslug Slug Killer.
Scale. Oval shaped insects that do not move about the plants, they simply stay at one place. These insects, white or brown in colour attack the plants to create what looks like blisters on the sides of the plant. Results in the leaves becoming unhealthy, changing to a yellow colour and eventually falling off. Infestation by Scales can be cured by using the appropriate insecticide available at most garden stores.
Making sure the garden is pest free is an extremely important factor. Make sure you take the steps to eradicate pests to ensure the success of the garden.
If slugs are a problem, you may want to try a product called Nemaslug Slug Killer. Click the link, Nemaslug Slug Killer, for more information.
Tags: common garden pests, Garden, garden pests, Gardening Articles, kill pests, nemaslug slug killer, Plants, slug killer, vegetables
Posted by Sarah Duke
Any vegetable gardener will inform you that bugs and pests are their biggest battle. The majority of insects tend to be more of a bother than intentionally destructive, yet when you discover a garden pest devouring your crop, you're not likely to be too happy. Following are several of the most common garden pests and strategies to eliminate them.
A corn earworm will assault your corn cobs and make a meal of the kernels. Likewise, a tomato fruitworm eats the insides of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Kill them off by means of an insecticide intended specifically for earworms.
Among the most unsightly garden pests may be the tomato hornworm. It is a fat, white and green worm with a large horn that looks like a stinger. It can be killed by picking it off the plant using gloved hands and dunking it in soap and water. Alternatively, you can spritz the worm with stomach poison insecticide, neem oil, or Bacillus thuringiensis.
The next aggravating bug is the beetle, which loves to dine on the leaves on your plants. You will want to eliminate them because they are able to do a tremendous amount of destruction to your garden. It is possible to either spray them with pesticide or simply pluck them off the plants.
Aphids are frequently present in a vegetable garden as well. Typically, you'll come across clusters of very small insects in various colors. To eradicate aphids, use insecticidal soap or neem oil.
Cutworms are a kind of pest that generally chops off the plant's stem close to the base. The one effective technique for overcoming them is to place a paper collar around the plants.
Snails and slugs can devour the foliage on your plants, and they always leave a slimy trail as evidence. You can buy bait to attract and kill them, but you can achieve the same thing with a shallow container of beer; they'll be drawn to it and drown.
Those plump white worms which you find in the ground are more than likely grubs. When grubs attack your plants they start to wilt and their growth is going to be cut short. Grubs can be held in check by adding milky spore to the soil. Grubs ultimately mature into beetles, which you can eradicate by means of stomach poison insecticide.
Thrips prefer various plants. You'll be able to know if they've been there by the haphazard white marks you see on the leaves. You can wash them off by spraying them with a hose, and then spray contact poison onto the plant.
You'll find borers in thick stemmed vine plants including squash and pumpkin. You have to hack them out of the plant in order to eradicate them. You might end up needing to pull up and destroy the plant it if you discover a borer near the bottom of it. You can typically overcome this type of garden pest by means of pesticide.
Eating healthfully doesn't have to be expensive when you plant a vegetable garden. From container vegetable gardening to edible landscaping, you'll find the information you need at the Vegetable Gardening Site.
Tags: common garden pests
