Most insects and small animals have a purpose but if they are in your garden or backyard creating havoc and destroying plants or trees, you need to find a way to control them.
photo credit: chidorian

Nature usually keeps insects in line with birds and other predators but sometimes certain creatures get out of control. Weather, over-population, and disease can cause unbalance in nature.

You also need to make sure there is not place for insects to hide and no diseases decaying matter for bugs to hide in. I you notice you have an insect problems and you plants are suffering, you can hand pick the insects of any plant and destroy them. You can also dislodge them with a strong spray of water.

But if you have an all out attack on your garden plants there is an insect spray you can make that will handle the problem quickly.

And yes, it sounds a bit strange.

Bug Juice Insect Spray

Collect a trowel of the damage-causing pests, and liquefy them in a blender with 1-cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) water. (I keep an old blender on hand to use for such purposes) Strain and dilute the mixture with 1-gallon (4 l) water, and pour the juice into a spray bottle.

Select plants that are infected with insects and spray. This mixture will not harm the plants. This is effective on nearly all pests, including beetles, squash and stink bugs, cutworms, army worms and even slugs

NOTE: Do not use bug juice on fleas, mosquitoes, or other blood-sucking insects that transmit disease.

Provide habitats for predators.

A single toad, frog, bird or bat consumes hundreds of insects a day. Toads and frogs are fun to watch in the garden areas and are harmless.
photo credit: Stryker W@SP

I had a toad that lived in my garden near the cumber patch for years. He either hid under the cucumber leaves or used the clay terra cotta planter I placed in the garden in a shady area. I also had a saucer of water sitting nearby for him. I enjoyed watching him in my garden areas.

Bats and birds are also helpful in keeping insects under control so provide houses for them to encourage them to stay in you backyard. The bat houses I place down by my creek. I am not fond of bats but they love mosquitoes and I don’t.
photo credit: Wagner Machado Carlos Lemes

Overall the best way to control insects is to notice the problems as soon as possible and take immediate action.

Technorati Tags: Bug juice insect spray, controlling insects, gardening tips

Everyone I talk to this year is battling strange summer weather conditions. It may be a drought, too much rain or cold weather. Weather that is abnormal or constantly changes will make for poor crops and plant diseases.
photo credit: aresauburn™

Rainfall every other day creates the perfect setup for foliar fungal diseases on vegetables.

Many fungal diseases thrive and spread in a humid climate where plants stay wet for long periods of time.

Other fungi prefer cooler wet weather.

Whichever situation you are facing in your area, these conditions will create plant disease unless extra steps are taken to help.

Good air circulation will help plants stay healthy. Remove any sickly leaves and keep weeds down.  You may also decide to plant disease resistant vegetable varieties as a precaution for humid or wet weather conditions.

Fungicides such as Daconil can be used to help combat these diseases. Always make sure you diagnosis the plants problem before spraying a fungicide.

Many fungal diseases appear first as leaf spots. Common plant diseases in the garden are early blight and late blight on tomatoes and Irish potatoes, rust on snap and pole beans, and powdery mildew on squash, cucumbers and watermelons.

Another weather condition that affects the vegetable garden is fluctuations in day and night temperatures.

Stunted growth and dieback may occur and about the only way to correct this is to replant the plants. It may seem drastic but unhealthy plants do not produce well and may spread disease to healthy plants

Deformed tomatoes or catfacing are common problems if the weather is cool and cloudy at the time of bloom. And tomatoes tend to crack during rainy periods when the temperature is relatively high. This happens more when rains follow a long, dry period.

Many of the cosmetic flaws found on fruit may be attributed to drastic changes in temperature and moisture levels during the flowering sage and even during the first stages of fruit developing.

Lack of pollination, petal drop, or no fruit in some vegetables may also be attributed to drastic changes in weather patterns or abnormal temperatures.

Sprays will help any disease from plants that are stressed from bad weather conditions but poor fruit or vegetable crops really cant be controlled unless you grow you crops in containers, which can be moved indoors or into a greenhouse or if you can cover your crops.

Poor weather conditions can affect any area and my NW Pennsylvania garden has seen a few too many unpredictable gardens seasons in the last few years.

For this reason I have learned to always grow a few tomato and pepper plants on the patio or in a greenhouse. I also grow strawberries year round in hanging baskets. I also keep row cover handy for covering my plants against rain and cooler nights.
photo credit: quinn.anya

If your garden is suffering from poor climate conditions these ideas may help and your weather may also improve.

Technorati Tags: gardening tips, plant diseases

With Mother Nature calling the weather you never know what challenges you may face in your garden from day to day. So my motto is, always be prepared.
photo credit: chad davis

One of the worse challenges for your garden is hail.

In my area we don’t have many hailstorms and they only last a few seconds. But a few seconds in a newly planted garden or hail falling on delicate plants can be disastrous!

If you have heard there is a chance of hail and you see that ominous yellow sky you may want to cover some of your more delicate plants. I usually keep larger clay pots near the garden so that I can cover up plants quickly.
photo credit: bestfor

For larger plants you may want to use metal pails. I even covered a large tomato plants with a 55-gallon garbage can one time. We did have a hailstorm and the tomato plant was fine.

And if you use trellises or plants where plants can climb covering the trellis with a tarp or leaning boards up against the trellis will protect your plants. I usually have attached hooks to my trellised so that I can attack wood pieces to the trellis to make a quick tent if I need to protect the plants from hail or cold weather.

My one relative that lived in an area more prone to hail built flexible row covers to use during the summer season when hails storms seemed to occur. They were light enough he could move them into place in a matter of minutes and cover with a heavy plastic to protect his garden areas.

I think of all garden challenges you can have, hail is one of the worst. You never know when a storm will happen, how long it will last or how much damage it will create.
photo credit: quinn.anya

So be prepared. Have tarps, covers or pots nearby and listen to the news and watch for that ominous yellow sky.

Technorati Tags: gardening tips. garden challenges