Ask Master Gardener Tom Ingram
Now that most of us have planted our summer vegetables, let’s talk about what happens next. What happens next means the arrival of some uninvited guests who want to eat our hard-earned harvest before we do.
That makes sense. We grow food, so we should get used to the idea that the food we grow is also tasty to many insects and various plant pathogens. We tend to call them pests, but in reality, it is us who are planting this buffet of tasty plants and vegetables in our backyard.
So how can we peacefully coexist? Let me tell you about some garden practices that will help us control pests so that we can enjoy our homegrown vegetables without having to resort to what I call the “nuclear option.” We do this by using something called integrated pest management.
Since we use the word “pests,” let's define what we mean. Strictly speaking, pests are organisms that can cause harm to humans, food, or housing. Sure, some of our friends fall into the “pest” category, but controlling those pests is outside my area of expertise and the scope of this article; that is, you'll have to deal with those yourself. However, IPM can help you get rid of pests you find in your yard.
Anyone else reading this…
Integrated pest management consists of four different categories: cultural control, biological control, mechanical and physical control, and the last and least utilized method, responsible chemical control.
There is far too much to cover in one article, so I will cover two of the practices today and summarize the remaining two next Tuesday. The first is cultural control.
Cultural control
One of the best ways to reduce potential pest problems is to minimize the opportunity for them to occur. For example, say your garden is plagued by a particular disease. Often vegetable varieties have some resistance to those diseases. For example, Fusarium wilt. If this disease has been a problem over the past few years, it is a good idea to purchase seeds or plants that have been engineered to be resistant to the disease. Seeds with this resistance will be labeled with a code, such as F1.
Using seeds with built-in resistance will minimize the chances of your plants getting this disease. The problem is solved or at least minimized without the need for chemical solutions. And in case you don't like GMOs, know that this resistance is produced by breeding, not genetic modification.
Second, make sure your plants have an environment where they can grow healthy. For example, almost all vegetables need at least 8-10 hours of sunlight per day. Plants that don't get this amount of sunlight will not be as healthy and strong as plants that get the right amount of sunlight. As a result, less strong plants will be more susceptible to disease than plants that are growing in the best conditions. So pay attention to your plants' sunlight needs.
Also, pay attention to early symptoms of disease. For example, many of the fungal diseases found on tomatoes start as small brown spots. So, when you see the first signs of these spots, prune off the affected leaves. Doing this will help minimize the spread of the disease and in many cases, prevent the problem before it even starts, so to speak. Don't forget to wash your pruning shears in a 10% bleach solution to prevent the disease from spreading. Disinfectant wipes are also very effective.
This early detection plan also works for insects. Let's say you find a tomato wasp feeding on your tomato plants. There's no need to immediately reach for the appropriate insecticide. Instead, you can simply pluck the wasp off the plant and dispose of it. Problem solved. Or you can just leave it alone, and it will become a beautiful moth. A little for them, a little for us is not a bad strategy.
Crop rotation is another practice you can follow to reduce disease in your garden. Planting the same vegetables in the same place year after year is almost guaranteed to cause problems as diseases can build up over time. Rotating crops can help minimize the spread of disease in the soil. However, crop rotation can be a bit tricky. Here's why:
Let's say you grow peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes in your vegetable patch, and you rotate these plants each year. But here's the problem: peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes are all in the same family, and therefore susceptible to the same diseases. So while you're rotating these crops, you're essentially not rotating them at all.
Proper crop rotation requires rotating plant families, which means having a good understanding of vegetable families. To learn more about vegetable families, visit tulsamastergardeners.org, go to the Lawn and Garden Help section and click on Vegetables. There you will find helpful information on crop families.
If you've been reading these articles, you know I'm a big fan of garden mulch. Aside from the benefits of soil moisture and soil temperature, mulch also helps minimize garden diseases, since many of the diseases that affect plants are present in the garden soil. These diseases can easily be splashed onto your plants by watering or rain. But a good layer of mulch can act as a barrier, minimizing the spread of soil diseases to your plants.
Well, this was a bit long, but I've only been able to talk about the first steps of integrated pest management, so IPM will be the hot topic for the next two weeks. Either way, see you in the garden!
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To get answers to all your gardening questions, call the Tulsa Master Gardeners Helpline at 918-746-3701, visit the Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th St., or email us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org.
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