Freshly planted and carefully tended, vegetable gardens can quickly become a magnet for trouble. Weeds, for instance, can overtake a garden in days. Slugs munch on seedlings. Aphids suck the juices from any number of plants.
If you haven’t planted yet, prepare the soil, then wait a week or two until weeds germinate. Loosen them with a hoe when they are still small, about the time two true leaves appear. Wait until another wave of weeds pops up, remove them, and you have a fairly clean slate for vegetables. Stay on top of emerging weeds until plants get big enough to shade them out.
Just like weeds, the sooner you deal with pests or diseases, the easier it is to control them. Slugs are one of the most common plant-eating pests. They especially gravitate toward lettuces and anything in the cabbage family but will make a meal out of just about any vegetable plant.
Throw slugs in a bucket of water or use the iron phosphate bait Sluggo. Traps work, too. Bury a small, plastic container up to about 1 inch from the rim. Fill it with beer, and remove the dead slugs daily.
Cucumber beetles are one of the most aggravating pests. About a quarter-inch long and yellow with black spots or stripes, the cucumber beetle is an enemy of cucumbers and squash. They chew holes in leaves, eventually killing the plant.
Control cucumber beetles with good hygiene and vigilance. Clean up the garden at the end of the season, and keep it neat. Right after planting, use floating row covers, which are made of lightweight fabric that allows air, light and water through. Drape them over a hoop structure, and seal edges by burying them in the soil or using rocks or bricks. The covers are available online and from garden centers. Remove them once the crop starts flowering.
If you’ve already planted and see cucumber beetles, consider getting a few new transplants and starting over with the row cover. Pesticides aren’t effective because the beetles move too fast.
Aphids are small, usually light green and sometimes sport a fuzzy coat. They feed on plants by sucking the juice out of leaves and producing a sticky substance.
Monitor plants often, being sure to check the underside of foliage where aphids like to congregate. To control mild populations, squish or wash them off with a spray from a hose. For more moderate infestations, use commercially available insecticidal soaps. Encourage natural enemies, like ladybugs, lacewings and hover flies, by not using broad-spectrum pesticides and planting a diverse variety of plants.
You likely will harvest broccoli, cabbage and other brassicas planted in early spring before the aphids get to them. They are at their worst in July and August.
Also a fan of the brassica family is the cabbage butterfly. These white, fluttery butterflies lay eggs on the undersides of leaves. When the larvae emerge, they tunnel into the hearts of cabbages.
Because they tend to be the same color as the leaves, cabbage butterfly larvae are hard to see. A row cover can help prevent the butterflies from laying eggs on crops. If it’s too late, consider using an insecticidal soap or a product with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a naturally occurring bacteria that feeds on larvae. Another option is to plant a new crop topped with a row cover from the get-go. Only remove it temporarily for harvest.
Visit tinyurl.com/7by2sp5j for more details. Information courtesy of Oregon State University Extension Service.