Minimizing Diseases in Vegetable Gardens

RE: Minimizing Diseases in Vegetable Gardens Post by tedsmom (402) | (06/16/2007) Contact Marigolds planted near the vegetable garden helps rid the garden of several pests, and looks good, too! God bless you! RE: Minimizing Diseases in Vegetable Gardens Post by coreenhart (129) | (06/15/2007) Profile | Blog! | Contact My husband keeps our garden almost pest free using Dipel for cabbage worms and by keeping the soil well-fed. We have cattle, so we have plenty of manure and straw to till in. We handpick potato beetles and their larvae. I hang traps in the fruit trees. I got this recipe from the first Amy Dacyzn book: In a 2-liter pop bottle, put a banana peel (torn in strips), a cup of sugar and a cup of vinegar. Add water to within 2 inches of the top. Tightly tie a double thickness of yarn around the neck and hang it in your fruit tree. It will attract and drown all kinds of pests, including codling moths. I put two out three weeks ago. One is almost full and will soon need to be replaced. When we use these, the worms are almost nonexistent in the apples. Good luck! RE: Minimizing Diseases in Vegetable Gardens Post by wordswork (74) | (06/15/2007) Profile | Blog! | Contact You'll have to do a little research, but the information is readily available online, at your library and through a magazine/publishing company called The Good Earth. The trick is Companion Planting. For instance, plant a row of marigolds beside your spuds and you won't get grubs, plant onions beside cabbage to deter slugs (I don't know if this is exactly correct, but you get the idea). My Mom has been doing this for years and her large, beautiful vegetable garden is not only pest free but prolific as well. Good luck! Cheers, Rose Anne Editor's Note: Here's a list of good and bad companion plantings: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf92168591.tip.html