CLINTON TOWNSHIP ORGANIC COMMUNITY GARDEN
Organic gardeners face challenges.
Be prepared.
Gather ideas and information for success.
Bacterial
CAN be treated once they are present.
Best to prevent them with good cultural practices.
Viral
CANNOT be treated once they are present.
CAN be prevented with good cultural practices.
Fungal
CAN be treated once they are present.
Best to prevent them with good cultural practices.
Please only use ORGANIC products and methods at the garden.
Whether it's bacterial, viral or fungal, vegetable diseases can severely limit the productivity of your plants. Good cultural practices and prevention are key for maintaining a healthy garden. The great thing is, many of them are simple to do.
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Choose plants that are resistant; use disease-free seed or plants.
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Control insects that might carry and spread diseases.
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Water at the base of the plant to avoid wetting leaves as much as possible.
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Give plants plenty of room to allow for good air circulation.
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Make sure the soil is healthy with plenty of organic nutrients and beneficial microorganisms.
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Remove rotting and overripe fruit.
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Remove diseased plants.
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Disinfect pruning tools.
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Remove dead plant material at the end of the season to eliminate over-wintering.
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Plan crop rotations.
Frequent monitoring of the garden to detect problems at an early stage will allow for prevention or reduction of disease development. For effective monitoring, it's important to know where and when to look for symptoms and to be able to identify those that are found. Without proper identification, disease management is impossible.
Read up on diagnosing and managing what ails your tomatoes and cucurbits (zucchini, cucumber, squash, melon, gourds).
