The Garden Column: Is Your Garden A Growing Frustration?
Saturday, July 05, 2008
By Juergen Jaenicke, MG
(Courtesy Cornell Cooperative Extension)
It’s frustrating when you go out to the garden to harvest fresh flowers or vegetables, only to find they’ve succumbed to wilt, powdery mildew, or any of the other many problems that foil our outdoor efforts.
Good gardening practices can help prevent that disappointment, witout resorting to a variety of chemicals. Herewith some tips for growing healthy veggies and ornamentals with a minimum of chemicals and frustrations:
• Start out with disease resistant varieties. Develop a good working knowledge of what diseases are likely to occur in your area, and then choose varieties less liable to succumb to them. Read seed labels and purchase seeds pre-treated with a dusting of a fungicide. If starting with seedlings, buy from a reputable nursery.
• Put the plants in the best possible site, taking into consideration drainage needs, sun, and soil pH most desirable for the plants. No plant will thrive if the site is not right.
• Get the soil into peak condition. Improve drainage where needed, because many diseases thrive in wet conditions. Add organic materials to heavy clay soil. Merely adjusting the pH can help prevent some plant diseases.
• Place plants far enough apart that they enjoy good air circulation. This is esspecially important for preventing powdery mildew.
• Use drip watering directly into the soil, rather than overhead watering, and water first thing in the morning if possible or at least early enough in the day that the plants will be dry before nightfall.
• Practice good garden hygiene, which means keeping the garden as neat as possible. Train climbing plants, deadhead faded flowers, and destroy any plant materials that show signs of decline.
• Rotate crops. Planting them in different spots makes it more difficult for diseases to accumulate in the soil and can help the soil to renew itself.
(Courtesy Cornell Cooperative Extension)
It’s frustrating when you go out to the garden to harvest fresh flowers or vegetables, only to find they’ve succumbed to wilt, powdery mildew, or any of the other many problems that foil our outdoor efforts.
Good gardening practices can help prevent that disappointment, witout resorting to a variety of chemicals. Herewith some tips for growing healthy veggies and ornamentals with a minimum of chemicals and frustrations:
• Start out with disease resistant varieties. Develop a good working knowledge of what diseases are likely to occur in your area, and then choose varieties less liable to succumb to them. Read seed labels and purchase seeds pre-treated with a dusting of a fungicide. If starting with seedlings, buy from a reputable nursery.
• Put the plants in the best possible site, taking into consideration drainage needs, sun, and soil pH most desirable for the plants. No plant will thrive if the site is not right.
• Get the soil into peak condition. Improve drainage where needed, because many diseases thrive in wet conditions. Add organic materials to heavy clay soil. Merely adjusting the pH can help prevent some plant diseases.
• Place plants far enough apart that they enjoy good air circulation. This is esspecially important for preventing powdery mildew.
• Use drip watering directly into the soil, rather than overhead watering, and water first thing in the morning if possible or at least early enough in the day that the plants will be dry before nightfall.
• Practice good garden hygiene, which means keeping the garden as neat as possible. Train climbing plants, deadhead faded flowers, and destroy any plant materials that show signs of decline.
• Rotate crops. Planting them in different spots makes it more difficult for diseases to accumulate in the soil and can help the soil to renew itself.