Keeping the vegetable garden disease free is an ongoing task. But that job is often easier when applying a broad-based effort that does not depend solely on one technique.
Start with good seed selection and proper soil preparation. If transplanting, select the healthy plants to prevent disease from being spread. Get rid of any plants that appear diseased to avoid infecting others nearby.
Water at the most appropriate times, this is often early on in the day. This allows the leaves an opportunity to dry ahead of night time temperatures setting in. Water practices can determine the spread of disease. For example, water that's splashed off one plant to the next can expose those close by to a disease on the first one. It is similar to someone with a cold that sneezes in the air. Even rainfall can produce a similar effect to some degree. Spread the plants out.
Other ways that diseases are spread include such things as insects – these can transport a virus from one plant to the next. It is therefore important to keep the insects under control to offer more benefits then just stopping them from eating the plant life. But gardeners and animals can spread them, also. Tobacco mosaic virus might be spread on a gardener’s clothing or on the legs of a rabbit, for instance.
If the garden has a well, keep it weeded as that will lower the possibilities of disease. Keeping the backyard attractive often results in having a health advantage, too. A lot of organisms will thrive on weeds, these later move onto the vegetables.
Being able to distinguish the signs of a variety of diseases, a lot of which are typical to a specific vegetable, can assist in controlling them.
Lettuce mold emerges as a wet rot at the base of the plant. The Botrytis mold is grey in colour and Sclerotinia mold is a noticeable white. Eliminating the mold is often achieved by removing the infected area, or to remove an entire plant.
One more common problem noticed in leafy vegetables is Spinach mosaic virus. Leaves start to turn mottled, and later become yellow in appearance. The plant adopts a wilted, stunted appearance.
Asparagus might suffer from rot or wilt as a result of the Fusarium. The spears appear spindly and the shoots might turn yellow. The roots might rot and go discolored. Taking out the infected plants is the desired solution. Puccinia fungus results in another common asparagus setback, resulting in rust. It's seen as red dots on the shoots or spears. The fungus is able to survive the winter, so avoid excessive watering to hold it at bay.
Tomatoes have to contend with blight, leaf spots and other conditions. Some of the soil fungus tend to affect the tomato plant in particular. Walnut trees in close proximity could produce a toxin that's harmful, with the roots taking it into the soil. Take note of dark concentric rings on the leaves. This problem can often be reduced if the leaves aren't wet at night.
Recognizing these signs and practicing early vegetable garden disease treatment can optimize the chances of a healthy harvest.
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