Diseases in the Garden

Is your garden suffering year after year from sick soil? Do your plants just seem like they could be healthier? It might be infected soil, and not individual plants. Certain blights and virus' can be present in the soil, but there are some things you can do to cut down on, or eliminate the problems entirely.
--A cold and wet period at the beginning of transplanting will open the plants up to many diseases, especially tomatoes. Check the weather and hold off transplanting until you see a warming trend of at least a week to insure the roots will catch on. It is better to wait than to subject them to all the stress.
--Don't plant your plants in the same space as the year before. Don't plant same family plants in the same places as they are open to the same diseases. Tomato plants are open to tobacco virus so if you smoke, do it away from the garden.
--Carrot and root crops are subject to weevils that stunt their growth, rotate them in the garden also and treat any area that has been invaded by them.
--Keep the weeds down, insects love weeds too and move from weeds to plants.
--Stay away from the garden after or during a rain, especially at the early stage of the garden. Some plants do not weather your wet touch, beans, cucumbers and squash plants are especially susceptible.
-- When you go to the nursery to buy your plants, check the undersides of the leaves to insure that they don't have any bugs or bug seeds on them. If you see white flies or black flies skitting from plant to plant, leave them right there, don't purchase them.
--Make sure you toughen the plants up by exposing them to more and more outside time before you actually plant them. Going straight from the house or hot house will stress them, a sure sign they will be more open to any bugs Most gardeners suggest to water your plants in the morning, not at night where dampness can cause disease.
--If you see weak and infected plants in your garden, don't leave them there, take them away, put them in your trash. If you return to the garden, wash your hands or gloves. Do not recycle any weak or infected plants in your compost pile.
--If you use plant material in your garden to keep weeds down, don't put it down until the plant is off to a great growing start. Plant material around your plant will lower the soil temperature and you will want to have the greatest amount of heat for new transplants.
--Happy Gardening