The best magazine
A variety of plants, good garden hygiene and a watchful gardener's eye for any infestation are, of course, essential for keeping the major garden enemies at bay.
Common Problem Areas Shady, damp spots are perfect breeding ground for what is perhaps garden enemy number one: slugs and snails.
Especially areas where rain water cannot run off properly and clogs the soil, namely between dense planting in a border and a solid fence.
Here slugs and snails love to breed and from here they spread out through the entire garden.
If this is a problem in your garden and your fence is old and needs replacing, you might like to invest in aluminum fences for your property.
A fence of this nature lets air circulate through the spars and allows sun light to reach the soil, taking care off any excess water that hasn't run off or been consumed by the plants.
Using Variety Planting The greater the variety of plants used in a garden, the fewer pests will make their home and the fewer diseases will infest the planting.
Monocultures of plants attract both pests and diseases.
In a garden consisting mainly of roses, aphids will thrive.
Once they start taking hold and begin their breeding cycle, they spread rapidly and are very difficult to control.
In mixed herbaceous borders the number of aphids is low, because the border will contain hosts plants for predators which love to eat aphids.
Ladybirds and hoverflies can munch their way through a large number of aphids every week, keeping any infestation under control.
Diseases like blackspot are equally kept at bay in mixed planting areas, since not all plants will be affected.
The disease will be limited to just a few plants.
Keeping the Garden Tidy Gardeners need to clear away dead leaves and must remove dying material, since both are breeding ground for pests and diseases, particularly fungal ones.
Don't stack up a pile of garden refuse next to a solid fence panel, but compost this type of refuse.
In a garden where the borders are outlined by aluminum fences gardeners tend to keep their borders tidy, since neighbours can overlook their garden and will soon complain.
Weeding is paramount, as many weeds are hosts to diseases like fungal varieties.
Slugs and Snail Control One of the most effective methods is still to go out at night with a torch and picking them off by hand.
Put out bait during the day, some gardeners swear by saucers filled with beer, and wait until the snail or slug population emerges.
Another method of protecting vulnerable plants is to put crushed egg or sea shells around plants, as snails and slugs do not like to crawl over such harsh terrain.
If your garden is overlooked through the spars of aluminum fences, you might not relish the idea of small circles of white crushed egg or sea shells around your specimen plants.
However, you should consider using egg shell or sea shells instead of gravel in places which are particularly prone to attracting snails and slugs.
Identifying the Culprits Aphids are the most common of garden pests and are usually greenfly and blackfly, attacking plants and bulbs in equal measure.
Botrytis, also known as grey mould, is a widespread fungal disease, which can quickly take hold, if not dealt with immediately.
It is typically the result of poor garden hygiene, so remember to deal with the pile of refuse stacked up by your aluminum fences.
Source: ...