Pest and disease management

Pest and Disease Management

Managing pests and diseases is one of the biggest challenges gardeners face. In an organic garden, it's important to understand that pests are a vital part of a healthy ecosystem and that they cannot be eradicated entirely.

Instead, we must learn to live with them and to manage them as best we can, by making sure our garden space is as diverse and healthy as possible.

Using the Runners to Clone Your Strawberry Plants

The easiest way to propagate strawberry plants is to put the baby plants into small pots of garden soil, but leaving them attached to the mother plant until they take root. Hold them in place using a bit of bendy wire or a twig, and then once they've taken root, you can snip them off the mother plant.

If a runner has multiple plants on it, snip off the ones nearest the end, so that the plant will focus all of its energy on the one plant.

1. Cultivate Healthy Plants

Making sure our plants are healthy from the get-go is crucial in an organic garden. We can help ensure this by sowing seeds at the right time, potting out in time and by keeping them hydrated.

If you'd like to read more about the importance of healthy plants, a great book is One-straw revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka.

2. Make Sure Your Growing Space Is Healthy Too

Ensure there are plenty of pest predators in your garden by cultivating a really biodiverse space. A diverse range of flowers will mean plenty of pollinators, while a pond, log stack and long grass will entice all sorts of creepy crawlies.

While pests may annoy us, they're actually important for a healthy ecosystem. However, while we need some, we can keep the excess at bay by removing opportunities for them to propagate. This includes checking under plants, removing pots they could hide in and not having edges on our raised beds, as snails, for instance, love to breed there.

3. Companion Planting

Companion planting means bringing together species that will benefit each other. Generally speaking, 'what goes together, grows together', which means growing basil with tomatoes, or calendula alongside tender plants, as its strong smell confuses predators that hunt via scent.

Slugs and Snails

Slugs and snails are always going to be a problem for gardeners, but they're an important part of the ecosystem too. Most slug species only break down decaying organic matter, with only a small number munching on our crops.

The ones that do eat our crops though, can destroy our precious plants in one night, so what can we do to protect against them?

1. Seaweed

Laying fresh seaweed around the base of plants will deter slugs and snails for a while, due to the amount of salt in it. However, this effect doesn't last long, and unless you have a regular supply of fresh seaweed, it's not that practical either.

2. Sheep's Wool

Like seaweed, the idea here is to lay this on the surface of the soil around your plant and the texture of the wool, along with the salt it contains, will deter the slugs. In my experience though, it doesn't work well and I still found slugs and snails crawling over it.

3. Copper Tape

This is one of the more popular defence methods used by gardeners, the theory being that the copper tape gives slugs and snails a small electric shock. The RHS have tested this method though, and found that it isn't really much of a deterrent, and it hasn't worked much in my own garden either.

4. Cloches

In my experience, cloches are by far the best defence against slugs and snails. Put them on every evening – when they do most of their damage – and leave overnight and your plants will be fully protected. Remove them in the morning, so your plants will have a good air flow.