Choosing Your Veggies

When deciding on vegetable varieties to plant in the home garden
take into consideration the plants cultural requirements. Most
vegetables require full sun and an inch of water per week. Make
sure your growing season is long enough to produce a crop.

Follow proper planting and spacing recommendations. Seed packets
or plant markers on transplants should list cultural requirements
and planting instructions.

Some other factors to take into consideration: the size of the
garden plot and the size of the family using the garden. How much
time can realistically be devoted weekly to upkeep of the plot?
Will preserving of some kind be done or is the garden intended
for fresh usage only?

Keeping Your Veggies

Once crops are well on the way to producing a successful harvest,
vigilance against marauding pests and harmful diseases is crucial
to keep plants healthy and productive.

An insect can be classified in one of three ways: pest,
beneficial, or of no consequence to the garden. Some insects are
vectors for diseases that can stunt or kill plants. Other insects
completely devour plants. Of the nearly 100,000 insect species in
this country only about 600 species are considered pests. Most
homeowners have about 1,000 species of insects living in their
yard and gardens.

Many gardeners are aware that beneficials are necessary to
pollinate crops. Other insects break down dead plant matter. Some
beneficials feed on harmful insects or have larvae that
parasitically develop inside a pest's body.

Since most insects are not harmful in your garden, the gardener
should be able to identify an insect before all out war is
declared. Your local extension office has information on insect
identification.

Using good cultural practices can help prevent or lessen the
effects of a pest or disease infestation. Cultural practices
include proper irrigation, crop rotation, garden sanitation, soil
aeration, proper mulching, tilling and use of disease and pest
-resistant plants.

Providing correct growing conditions will provide a healthy,
vigorous plant that is less likely to be attacked by pests and
disease.

When an infestation threatens the crop, the home gardener must
decide if chemical means will be used or if some other method is
preferable. Many home gardeners use a combination of methods for
pest and disease management. Your extension office can provide
many options for pest and disease control and if a chemical
method is used FOLLOW ALL LABEL INSTRUCTIONS.
Remember that many organic pesticides are still chemicals and
potentially harmful to people or pets if instructions are not
followed exactly.

The effects of improper cultural practices and the symptoms of
many plant diseases mimic the effects of insect damage. Since
pesticides have no effect on disease and fungicides, or other
disease halting chemicals, have no effect on pest control it is
essential for you to determine what is causing plant failure.

If you can't determine what is damaging the plants, a sample can
probably be taken to your extension office for identification.
Call the extension office for times and details on sample
identification.

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Cheryl is a Master Gardener who volunteers with the Lake County
(Ohio) Extension office of Ohio State University. She won a
Cleveland Press Club award last year for her feature and column
writing.