For many new gardeners, the sound of potato blight or tomato blight feels like another language. From mildew to botrytis, many diseases can affect your vegetable and fruit plants. Let’s look at some of the most common ones in detail and some ways to avoid them or how you can treat the plants affected.
There is a very fine line with nature when it comes to pests because some garden wildlife can be very damaging to your vegetables and fruit. I do not use pesticides or sprays because, for me, the best way is to become a collector who moves insects and caterpillars away onto sacrificial or decoy plants. That said, there is also an army of helpful beasties too like the ladybird (Ladybug US) that feeds on all those black flies and aphids on your vegetables. Bigger wildlife like rabbits, squirrels, some birds, and deer can be persuaded to move elsewhere with a few precautions. Let’s look at some of the wildlife that may affect your vegetables.
Raised beds offer many advantages to the vegetable grower. They provide deeper soil which retains moisture better and they allow you to fertilize easily in a controlled way. They can be mulched to keep adding annual fertility. They tidy your veg plot into mounds of growing space, keeping slugs and snails slightly further away. Leaving wide paths between beds is advantageous for gardeners with disability and mobility issues because they are higher off the ground, easier to seed and weed and great to sit on too. So in this article let’s make some (moveable) temporary raised beds you can try cheaply this year and if you like this method, you can try building more permanent ones next autumn.
After last week’s snow, I am determined to get started. I know that Richard already has his rows of tomato plants on his window sill, so I have some catching up to do. Wash out those pots from last year to make sure no snails are lurking in there and also to give your new seeds a disease-free environment. Check out which window in your house the sun hits for longest, and then get a tray ready with pots to house your new seedlings.
Out of the soil come the plants whose fruit and veg you want to eat and enjoy, so you can see that all the goodness comes from there too. Experts say the ideal soil for growing vegetables is loamy – see more on soil types below. Digging your soil at this time of the year will add oxygen, help to remove pests like slugs and snails, and add fertilizers targeted at the plants you have chosen. Adding mulch will help your soil to retain moisture. Read on to make a great start to your vegetable growing this year.
