Catch Garden Pests And Diseases Early By Keeping A Close Eye On Your Plants

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Catch Garden Pests And Diseases Early By Keeping A Close Eye On Your Plants

Every morning I go out to tend my plants with coffee in hand and usually in my pajamas.

"Who's thirsty? Who needs a piece?" I ask, attending to their needs as I move from bed to bed.

A visit on most days reveals pleasant changes, such as Madame Julia Correvon's first clematis flower, or the appearance of the forest green Voyager tomato that was not there the day before. But sometimes he panics.

One day last week when I was checking Domingo, Voyager and RW Sepe tomatoes growing in pots of soil, I noticed small dark spots on their stems. Hoping they were dirty spots, I pointed my phone's camera at them and found three different types of aphids feeding on them. I couldn't see them piercing the mouthparts, but I knew they were stuck in the vulnerable tissue of the 3-foot plants I fell in love with in March.

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When dealing with garden pests and diseases, it is important to act quickly. If left unchecked, they can grow rapidly, leading to reduced vigor, fewer flowers and fruits, or complete decline.

My approach always starts with the best treatment and I only add it when needed. Even so, I have my limits because I sacrifice a flower or vegetable instead of using harsh chemicals.

This July 5, 2023 photo by Jessica Damiano shows aphids under a tomato leaf on Long Island, New York. Insects the size of poppy seeds can be removed by pricking or swallowing tap water to extract the sap from the leaves and stems of the plant. (Jessica Damiano via AP)

On my tomatoes, since I had already caught aphids, I managed to wash them off by brushing my fingers away with gentle streams of water. They didn't come, and if they did, I look for them every day.

If the infestation was severe or the water and scrub method was ineffective, I would use a celery spray to kill the aphids by fumigation. Organic oil derived from the seeds of the neem tree is edible and non-toxic to humans, pets and birds. However, it should be applied after dark, when beneficial insects are least active.

On the same day I found mature red water lily beetles on Asian flowers. They've never turned up in my garden, so to be honest, I'm furious. Red beetles feed on leaves, stems, buds and flowers of all true lilies and fruits.

This Jessica Damiano file photo taken on July 5, 2023 shows a red lily beetle on the stem of an Asiatic lily on Long Island, New York. (Jessica Damiano via AP)

In the spring they are covered with the droppings of their long-lost larvae. As you can imagine, this makes hunters less desirable. The coating acts as a protection against pests, making it difficult to destroy them. It's a good defense mechanism, but yeah.

Last season the tiny caterpillars covered in caterpillars didn't notice me and completely destroyed some of my plants which were uprooted, browned and cracked at the back of the bed. To avoid further carnage, I had to remove the adults from the remaining flowers and then spray them off the stem in a bucket of soapy water.

This July 4, 2023 photo by Jessica Damiano shows a red lily beetle damaging an Asiatic lily plant in Long Island, NY (Jessica Damiano via AP).

On the way home, I stopped to look at the rhododendron by the front door, which was infested with azalea blight last summer. Of course the fluffy white bugs are back. Some of their leaves were infected, I cut them off. But since most leaves harbor only certain pests, I was able to kill them by soaking each cotton swab in denatured alcohol.

If I hadn't noticed this before all the leaves were scraped off, the alcohol method would have been impractical or impossible to use. At this stage, feeding the offspring can cause the plant to turn yellow, wilt, weaken and in extreme cases die.

My early surgeries delayed or stopped potentially fatal seizures. The same is true of diseases, many of which respond better to early treatment.

This July 5, 2023 photo by Jessica Damiano shows mealybugs under the leaves of a rhododendron on Long Island, New York. They can be caught early, before their presence turns into an infestation, by rubbing each infestation with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol. (Jessica Damiano via AP)

Take, for example, blossom end rot, a disease of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and squash caused by a deficiency of calcium, often due to irregular watering or drought. The first sign is a water-filled spot on or near the flower tip (bottom) of the fruit. As the area increases, the affected area becomes sunken and turns brown or black.

Catch it early and you can save your crop by spraying the whole plant with a calcium spray that will eliminate the deficiency immediately. Often, new fruit obtained after treatment is healthy. If not, a second dose should be taken.

Looking at crops such as lilacs, roses, asters, phlox, honey figs, peonies and black-eyed suzannes, as well as watermelons, marrow pumpkins, courgettes, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers and artichokes in their dusty white leaves exposes you to the so-called powdery mildew. If the disease escapes your attention, it can cause plant weakness, numbness and leaf drop.

Pre-treatment with 3 tablespoons of baking soda and light horticultural oil per gallon of water will prevent the infection from spreading to other plants in or near the plant. Neem oil is another pre-treatment option that offers similar benefits.

The best cure is prevention, and the best way to keep plants healthy is regular search and destroy missions. They don't require much effort, and if you're like me, you don't even need to wear them.

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