Aphid Control can be a daunting task, a task which most gardeners have dealt with at some point, but it can be done.

Getting rid of aphids, those tiny creatures who love to suck the juice out of growing tips and leaves on your roses or other tender plants and ruin your flower gardening efforts, is a must, and there are at least 9 ecofriendly methods you can use for aphid control.   However, before discussing how one can get rid of aphids, let’s have a look at what they look like. Read the rest of this entry »

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An excellent organic aphid control method that can do the job of killing aphids quickly is the citrus homemade insecticidal spray.

It’s true that aphids are quite small and so difficult to get rid of. However, this citrus homemade insecticidal spray kills the aphids  and even deters the ants which colonize the aphids for their honeydew. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 32%

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What can be done to stop the problem of bitter rot pear disease?

Karen left me a message asking me if I knew how to deal with Deformed Rotting Bartlett Pears growing on  her daughter’s beautiful tree.

Here’s what she wrote:

“Daughter has a bartlet pear tree that reaped abundant HUGE fruit this year which was, unfortunately, deformed with indentations and black ‘holes’  . . .don’t know what the problem is and don’t know if spraying for a ‘fungus’ is appropriate. ????  Please enlighten us. Hate to see all this beautiful fruit going to the hornets.”
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Insect control used to mean using insecticides or pesticides to spray plants the minute bugs began making their appearance.

However, we have come to realize that insect control by spraying plants with insecticides or pesticides was creating other problems, not the least being that we were poisoning ourselves and our environment plus killing the soil’s microorganisms so necessary to plant growth. Finally other methods of insect control have been revived or created, methods which will help  by getting rid of those unwanted bugs without putting people or other insect species at risk Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 22%

Gardeners can use one or many techniques if they wish to  create unfavorable surroundings for bugs.

In the previous post, Creating Unfavorable Surroundings for Bugs, part 1, I’ve covered 4 methods that can be used in order to create unfavorable surroundings for bugs.   Let’s recap — Method 1: Timing Your Plantings, Method 2: Weeding Your Garden Regularly, Method 3: Interplanting Your Crops, and Method 4: Using Companion Planting.  Let’s continue with Creating Unfavorable Surroundings for Bugs (part2), methods 5, 6, and 7.

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How can Creating Unfavorable Surroundings help the gardener avoid insect infestation?

Different garden insects have their favorite plants and favorite times to appear on the scene. Creating unfavorable surroundings for bugs requires careful observation, planning, and a good deal of trial and error. In this post I will cover 4 of 7 methods which are good for creating unfavorable surroundings for bugs. The other three will be covered in “Creating Unfavorable Surroundings For Bugs Part 2).

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Popularity: 17%