In her latest gardening story, Jessica Damiano tells of the garden pests and diseases she has seen in her plants. She suggests acting quickly when dealing with these issues, as they can rapidly spread and cause significant damage to plant health and growth.
Her measure always begins with the gentlest treatment possible. She only intensifies her treatments when necessary. Even then, she has her limits. Damiano says she would rather lose a flower or vegetable plant than use strong chemicals. In the case of her tomato plants, Damiano caught the aphids, a pest, early. She washed them off and removed the ones that would not come off by using her fingers under moving water.
Had the invasion been severe or the water and finger removal method been ineffective, she would have used Neem oil. This organic oil from Neem tree seeds, kills aphids and is safe for plants that will be consumed. However, she would apply it after sunset when helpful insects are less active.
On the same day, Damiano also found scarlet lily beetles on her Asiatic lily plants. They cover themselves in waste. This makes them less appealing to those that would want to eat them. But the coating also protects them from chemicals, making them difficult to remove. To fight against them, she physically tapped the beetles into a mixture of water, soap, vinegar, or household cleaners.
Her rhododendron, a flowering plant, got attacked by a pest called azalea bark scale last summer. When she noticed the return of these white insects this year, she immediately removed the infested leaves. For the remaining leaves with a few pests, she was able to remove them by touching each insect with some rubbing alcohol.
By working early, Damiano slowed or stopped infestations that could have killed her plants. The same would be true for diseases, many of which also respond better to early treatments.