There’s good news in the war on garden pests: the struggle grows easier by the season. Thanks to recent improvements in spraying and dusting equipment, you can go forward to battle assured of winning with a minimum of effort. New designs make garden spraying and dusting practically a push-button job. And even if you are … Read more
May is the vegetable grower’s busiest month for most parts of the country. The seeds of the early hardy crops that were sown a month or so ago will have germinated and made sufficient growth to be thinned out—an operation which cannot be postponed without disastrous results. And as the ground warms up and the … Read more
The colorful array of pesticides in cans, packages, bombs, or bottles seen in horticultural supply and hardware stores must be confusing to the average gardener—perhaps even frightening. In addition to the problem of choosing the right one for his particular trouble, he must also wonder about all the warnings and precautions printed on the labels. … Read more
Several readers share how they handled their most serious pests in the garden. Charlotte Parrish We moved into our new village home right after the lawn had been turned over, graded, seeded, and thousands of bulbs planted in the beds. Ground moles from miles around moved in the same day. During the night, we could … Read more
Rust diseases are caused by parasitic fungus growths, similar to diseases like blackspot and mildew in roses. Fungi are part of the plant kingdom, but they are different from most plants because they don’t have chlorophyll. As a result, they can’t make their own food. Just like animals, fungi rely on plants that have chlorophyll … Read more
The disease of roses “crown gall” has often been cited as one of the most insistent rose diseases. It appears as rough, knobby, tuberlike growths either above or below ground parts of the plant. In certain locations, it may develop on canes and roots. Galls may grow 2″ or 3″ inches in diameter, occasionally larger. … Read more
Gardeners this season can take a new approach to knock off some of the marauding insects in the garden. In a miniature version of germ warfare, they can spread a plague among the caterpillars. Although biological control of insects is not new, it has never been compared to various poisons to control insect pests. To … Read more
The flowers on Hibiscus trees are gorgeous, short-lived, and tasty when made into an herbal tea. But if you begin to notice growing populations of winged bugs on the undersides of leaves and around your plants, you may be dealing with white flies on hibiscus. White flies on hibiscus can feed on your leaves and … Read more
Caterpillars can quickly decimate a vegetable crop. Controlling caterpillars takes a combination of prevention, avoidance, monitoring and suppression. It is the only way to successfully battle caterpillars. Natural Ways to Control Caterpillars Many people reach for chemicals to get rid of caterpillars. But there are some natural steps to add to your caterpillar control system. … Read more
The United States considers Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (aka Halyomorpha halys or BMSB) as invasive pests. These insects come from Asia, but it somehow turned up in North America, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 2001. Many thought the brown marmorated stink bug made its way to this country by stowing away in shipping crates. Highly adaptable … Read more