Now that most of us have our summer vegetable crops in the ground, let’s talk about what happens next, and by next I mean the arrival of all those uninvited guests that want to eat the fruits of our labors before we can.

I mean, it stands to reason. We are growing food and we should probably get used to the idea that the food we are growing will also be seen as delicious to many insects and a variety of plant diseases.  We tend to call them pests. But in reality, we are the ones who planted this delicious buffet of plants and vegetables right in their backyard. 

So, how do we peacefully coexist? Let’s talk about a few garden practices that help us control these pests so that we too can enjoy our homegrown vegetables without reaching for what I call the “nuclear option?” We do so by utilizing something called Integrated Pest Management or IPM.

I used the word “pest” so let’s define what I mean by pest. Technically, a pest is a living organism that can be harmful to humans, our food, or our living quarters. And yes, we sometimes have friends that sometimes fall into that “pest” category, but control of those kinds of pests is not within the purview of my expertise or this article. In other words, you are on your own with those. But IPM can help you with the pests found in your garden. 

Integrated Pest Management consists of four distinct categories: Cultural Controls, Biological Controls, Mechanical and Physical Controls, and responsible Chemical Control as the last and least utilized practice.

There’s too much in IPM for one article, so today we’ll cover two of those practices and then next Tuesday we’ll wrap up with the remaining two. First up is Cultural Control. 

Cultural Controls

One of the best ways to reduce potential pest problems is by minimizing the opportunity for those pest problems to arise. Here’s what I mean. Let’s say you have had problems with a particular disease in your garden. Oftentimes there are varieties of vegetables that come with some degree of built in resistance to those diseases. For example, fusarium wilt. If this disease has been a problem in previous years, it would be a good idea to purchase seeds or plants with a built-in resistance to this disease. Seeds with this resistance will be marked with a code such as F1. Utilizing seeds with this built in resistance will minimize the chances that your plants will contract this disease. Problem solved, or at least minimized without the need for any sort of chemical solution. And just fyi, this resistance is created through cross-breeding and not through genetic modification just in case you are not a fan of GMOs. 

 Next up would be to provide a healthy growing environment for your plants. For example, just about every vegetable crop is going to want at least 8 to 10 hours of sun per day. If they do not get this amount of sun, they are not going to be as healthy or robust as those who do get the proper amount of sum. As a result, less robust plants tend to fall victim to disease more often than those that are living their best life. So, pay attention to the sun needs of your plant for healthier plants. 

Next would be to keep an eye out for early signs of disease. For example, many of the fungal diseases found on tomatoes start as small brown spots. So, at the first sign of any of these spots, prune out the affected leaves. Doing this will help to minimize the spread of the disease and oftentimes nip the problem in the bud so to speak. Just remember to clean your pruners with a 10% bleach solution afterwards to keep from spreading the disease to other plants. Those disinfecting wipes work pretty well also.

This early detection plan also works for insects. Let’s say you stumble upon a tomato hornworm dining on your tomato plant. There’s no need to immediately reach for the appropriate pesticide. Instead, you can simply pick the hornworm off of your plant and dispose of it. Problem solved. Or, you can always leave it alone since it will become a beautiful moth. Some for them and some for us is not a bad strategy. 

Crop rotation is another cultural practice you can do to reduce disease in your garden. When we plant the same vegetable in the same spot year after year, it’s easy for diseases to build up over time, almost guaranteeing it will become a problem. Rotating our crops helps to minimize the rise of disease presence in the soil. However, rotating crops can be a bit tricky. Here’s why.

Let’s say you grow peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes in your home garden and let’s also say that you have been practicing crop rotation by rotating the places where you plant these plants each year. But here’s the problem - peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes are all in the same family and therefore susceptible to the same diseases. So while you have been rotating these crops, it’s essentially not like rotating at all. Proper crop rotation requires rotating plant families which of course means you are going to need to familiarize yourself with the vegetable crop families. To learn more about the vegetable families, you can go to our website (www.tulsamastergardeners.org), go to the Lawn and Garden Help section and click on Vegetables. You’ll find good information on crop families there. 

If your read these articles, you know that I am a big fan of garden mulch. Irrespective of the soil moisture and soil temperature benefits, mulch can also help to minimized disease in your garden because many of the diseases that affect our plants are found in our garden soil. These diseases are easily splashed up on to our plants through watering or rain. But, a good layer of mulch helps to provide a barrier by minimizing the splashing of disease in the soil up onto our plants. 

Ok, so I was a little long-winded here and we only got to talk about the first step in Integrated Pest Management. So, IPM will likely be the topic for the next two Tuesdays. Either way, see you in the garden! 

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Bruce Watt, University of Maine, Bugwood.org