Using Liquid Seaweed
Liquid Seaweed is very important because it provides plants with the
necessary trace minerals to build up their immune systems. It also provides bacteria for
the plants' natural systems to work with. Use distilled or spring water or well water for
this as city water may kill off the bacteria (or you can filter the water. See garden
filter page.). Read the chapter on organic fertilizers in this book for details on what
organic fertilizers to use. Remember that the first line of defense is careful planning.
Many plant troubles blamed on diseases and pests are really caused by poor soil. By
providing plants with healthy soil to grow in, you will find that plants will be
healthier, and less prone to attack from diseases and pests. A good organic grower plans
ahead. He or she works into his soil as many different varieties of organic materials as
he can get. He or she adds manure and mulches and provides the soil with as much and
varied sources of nutrients as possible. This is the key to successful organic growing as
well as to organic pest controls.
Proper Watering Methods
If a plant is improperly watered, it will suffer stress and open itself up
to attack by insects and rodents. The lack of regular watering causes nutrients to
disappear and become unavailable to plants. Learn the correct methods of watering. Too
much water is just as bad as not enough. Insufficient lighting also contributes to stress.
Trees weakened by improper watering, root damage and improper feeding are more likely to
be attacked by pests such as borers than are healthy trees. Bugs and diseases act as
censors in nature. Bugs like unbalanced soil.
The Invisible Gardener says: "Hand-picking" is the
best!
This means that you must first know your pest. Get a hand lens and
examine the stems, leaves and fruit surfaces to see what is causing the damage. Look for
tiny eggs, tiny puncture holes, trails, excrement and insects. In other words identify the
problem. There are many good books on insect identification on the market1. Not all
insects are bad, so be careful which ones you place the blame on.
Also learn to identify insect eating habits. Some insects are chewers such as
caterpillars, earwigs and leaf miners. Others are suckers such as aphids, and mites. Still
others feed below ground such as nematodes, maggots and rootworms, and others are feed
above ground such as apple maggots, beetles and tomato fruit worms.
_______________________________
Try also Natural Pest Control and Raised Beds
andy lopez
Invisible Gardener
copy
all rights reserved |
