Growing Vegetables

Another factor that can weaken your vegetables and hurt your yield is insect and disease problems. This is a problem that is best confronted early on or you risk a total crop failure.

Begin your control regimen with some basic practices. Turn infested plant residues under after harvest or remove it from the garden. Support tall growing plants like tomatoes or cucumbers. Space your rows and plants far enough apart to let air circulate between. Time your planting dates to avoid the peak pest times.

Avoid overhead watering in the late afternoon as wet plants are more susceptible to some diseases. If you need to do overhead watering do it in the morning when the plants are already covered with dew and will dry normally.

Rotate plant families through different sections of your garden in successive years to help reduce some insect and disease problems.

If available try and grow disease resistant varieties of vegetables. these varieties are not immune to disease, but will produce a good yield despite the presence of disease.

Non-chemical means of insect removal are best when growing edible crops. You can use sanitary methods, barriers, repellents or traps. Encouraging beneficial insects and birds to your garden or remove by hand if the outbreak is small.

Early detection is key in disease and insect control. You need to walk through your garden every two or three days to scout for potential issues. Identify the problem and treatment before it becomes severe.