Crop Care Sprayers

Remove Diseased Plants Someday I will dig out all the susceptible bee-balm varieties at my house and replace them with mildew-resistant varieties. That combined with our cooler temperatures has created the perfect recipe for fungal diseases.

Though this disease has been in the U.S. for at least a decade, it's becoming more and more common. Do not space plants too closely to ensure they have good air circulation as well.

They might develop in a bent shape. The centers of lesions eventually fall out, causing the plant to look tattered. White Mold Caused by: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum , the fungus that causes white mold, is a big problem for legumes in moderately warm, humid...

When watering, try to keep the foliage dry and always water in the morning to give the plants plenty of time to dry before night arrives. For this reason, gardeners should always buy basil plants from a local source or start their own plants from disease-free...

If flowers do develop, they'll also be distorted and mottled, and the stem might grow excessive numbers of thorns, as well. Multiflora roses were introduced into the wild for erosion control and wildlife habitat beginning in the 1930s.

Floating row covers are also effective. Aphids ( Brevicoryne brassicae ) and ( Lipaphis erysimi ) Eran Finkle/Flickr Two species of aphids , turnip aphids and cabbage aphids, are commonly found on brassicas.

Don't prune leaves that shade fruit, as you could expose tomatoes to direct sun, causing sunscald. A third type of fungal disease, late blight ( Phytophthora infenstans ), is fast-moving and extremely destructive, wiping out entire crops in a matter of...

Sadly, organic and conventional insecticides that are available to home gardeners are largely ineffective for controlling thrips because of their moderate innate resistance due to their sheltered feeding sites inside flowers and vegetation.

“The saliva they inject through their stylets causes the cells around where they're feeding to enlarge and then engulf the female body, forming a ball-like bulge sized around 1 millimeter to 2½ centimeters [about 1 inch],” Celetti says.

Irrigate from beneath the plant if possible. Get Rid Of It: If you find you have mosaic virus, tear up the plants and throw them away. Get Rid Of It: There are no known remedies. Thin plants if possible for better air circulation.

The rate and frequency of application depends on the targeted fungal organism, but all are listed on the product's label. Growing great grapes requires some work, but the results well worth it.

Make sure they are properly spaced and pruned. If you grow roses , you're probably familiar with a pathogen called black spot ( Diplocarpon rosae ). Like almost all other fungal diseases, black spot thrives in wet weather.

However, it's suggested that ivy can be toxic when in the wrong hands. I suppose the first time I ever heard the song was when my mother took me to see Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol .

Leeks planted in the early spring are intended for fall harvests, though I leave some of my leeks in the ground with a 3-inch layer of straw mulch . Leeks find a home in my garden every season, not only because I enjoy their mild onion-like flavor (a...

My grandparents always had a basket of nuts ready for an industrious person with a nutcracker. There is hope for the American chestnut. They have successfully crossed the American chestnut with the resistant Chinese chestnut to produce a few trees that...

Possomhaw ( Viburnum nudum ) The creamy white, spring flowers of this viburnum are attractive to bees and other pollinators, and they have a subtle, sweet fragrance. One of the best ways to add interest to the winter garden is to include berry-producing,...

One thing that is well-known about Ohio is that the weather is quick to change. One of my favorite spaces that awaits is our outdoor classroom. I am always exploring new companion planting combinations in hopes of greater and greater bounty for the table.

The seemingly magical process can be attributed to a ­symbiotic relationship with bacteria present in soil, called rhizobia. Lexington, Ky., nutrition educator Robin Westrick, aka Chef Raw Bean, calls pulses “nature's nearly perfect protein-fiber package.”...

When the sun shines and the season is right, we're back outside from dawn to dusk expending energy. It is definitely time to greet a real change of the seasons outside, while inside we must respond to the change of seasons in the kitchen.

Cascade and Nugget are popular varieties, but for added ornamentation, choose Golden, which has beautiful chartreuse foliage. The young shoots of hops are edible, but it's their cone-like flowers that are most desired by home brewers .

Sorghum is pretty hardy and grows well in dry, hot areas. Americans throughout history have created community events out of milling and processing sorghum cane into syrup. Identifying Sorghum Plants You squeeze juice out of sorghum's long canes, which...

It likes to live in drought conditions, so watering a little bit at a time will actually create problems. Before I entered this “field” (sorry, I couldn't resist), I was working a corporate job.

Sorghum flour has become popular as the recognition of gluten sensitivities have come to light in recent years because it is gluten-free, but it also has impressive nutritional value, containing a good mix of carbohydrates, dietary fiber, protein, iron,...

The stepsisters ask for expensive gifts, but Cinderella asks only for the first branch which knocks against his hat as he rides home. M a n u e l/Flickr So many of the princess-related fairy tales we know today have been sanitized quite a bit.

For now, materials can be imported and an energy-efficient home can be built for around $130 per square foot. Tags hemp , Lists Any petroleum oil in cosmetics could be replaced with hemp.

How To Grow Buckwheat While buckwheat is a quick growing and maturing crop, it doesn't like hot, dry weather. Buckwheat is widely known as one of your baking choices at the grocery store, but most gardeners don't recognize the opportunity they have to...

The flower is rather pretty, coming in white, pink, lavender or light blue. The American Sesame Growers Association explains that the improved version of sesame are non-dehiscent, meaning they open in such a way that the seeds aren't scattered before...