Natural Ways to Fight Pests and Disease in Your Garden

 So now that our  gardens are in full swing so are the pests! They are happily munching amongst our salad greens - anything tender for that matter!  Here is a great link to a recipe I found on making your own insecticidal soap.  http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/7076/garlic-and-chile-insecticidal-soap-spray
If you are going to spray your  gardens, veggie's especially or  have pets please choose all natural/organic sprays to keep everyone safe :)

Here is a great link from Organic Gardening today on the Top 10 Pest list - http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/top-ten-garden-insect-pests?cm_mmc=OGNews-_-621410-_-06222011-_-learnandgrow-_-top_ten_garden_insect_pests

Now for the nasty slugs and snails, this products is at the TOP of my list. I use it at our home and all of my clients who suffer from these  guys. Not sure if you have this problem? Check at dusk underneath a few leaves of your lettuce or look for a silvery slimy trail. They like to hid in cool damp places. As a kid I used to shake salt on them to kill them and watch the squirm but now I use Sluggo! I have actually seen slugs turn around after spreading this out and go to eat it instead of my plant!  YIPPY! You will need to reapply after it rains. Try it once you'll know what I mean!  Happy trails slugs!  http://www.montereylawngarden.com/














 One last quick tip for Powdery Mildew... you may notice your Garden Phlox or Bee Balm getting white powdery like spots on the leaves and slowly the leaves turn from yellow to brown and fall off. This typically occurs when it has been really damp and the leaves have not had a chance to dry and the air circulation is poor.  I make a topical spray of one quart water  and one-two tablespoons of baking soda. Apply til the leaves are dripping wet. Make sure you spray it as soon as you see it starting because it quickly spreads to other plants!

One product I swear by for curing plant diseases is Green Cure, an organic fungicide! It has cured every problem of Blight, Botrytis and many more and is safe for all plants including edibles.  You can harvest 2 hrs after application and it even keeps fighting up to 2 weeks after first application.   http://www.greencure.net/
 Happy Gardening!