Careful observations as you work in the garden help identify
problems without actually seeing the perpetrator.
Identification is the key to proper control!
While harvesting tomatoes it appears something is eating the
top of the plants. Random missing parts of the plant may indicate some mammal
is in the garden. You would also notice tracks in the soil around the bed. On
the other hand if the tops look like green sticks with all the leaf eaten off
and several blocky greenish droppings on the leaves or on the ground, this
would indicate tomato horn worms.
Working around your eggplants it appears there are lots of
very tiny holes in the leaves. Eggplants are a preferred crop of flea beetles
and tiny holes are an indication of an infestation. If the holes are larger and
much more irregular in shape, this would indicate a larger insect and most
likely grasshoppers are chewing on the plants.
Your brassicas (broccoli,
cauliflower, kale…) appear to be growing in reverse. This would lead you to
believe you need to look for cutworms. If you have mulched your plants,
fingering through this mulch just might expose these critters.
Small strings of feces on leaves
and shredded leaves would indicate a need to look for and dispose of blister
beetles. The use of gloves would be wise because some folks get skin burns from
blister beetles.
When cucumber leaves look like lace
or netting, cucumber beetles are feeding. Most cases you will see hundreds of
the critters. Sometimes they are not seen but seeing the netting you know you
have them.
Patient and careful observations
can also inform the need for fertilizer. If the vegetation has a general
yellowed look, an application of nitrogen may be instore. On the other hand after
heavy rains or during daily garden visits there is an observation of the new
growth being yellow; this would indicate too much water.
Like with bird watchers before
going on a birding trip they will look through a birding book to familiarize
themselves with the expected birds they may see. When you only have a small glance of a bird
this familiarization helps immensely.
By looking through bug
identification books, a gardener can become familiar with what bugs they may
find in the garden. It is also important to make notes of the “good guys” too.
A long time ago I took a soil
fertility class. The real neat thing with this class was the lab. We induced
fertility deficiencies with different minerals. In most cases this was from a
healthy plant all the way to the death of the plant. This was invaluable in
helping me to make plant health observations.
Yes with careful observations
problems can be taken care of before they become critical.
Questions? I can be
contacted at markdirtfarmer@gmail.com. Or more
garden notes at redwagonfarm.blogsot.com
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