pests

Pests and Diseases to Watch Out for This Spring

Dan Pest Update, This Land of Ours

Some pests and diseases to watch out for this Spring. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

Spring garden pests are with us all year. In the winter, many of them sleep cozily in our gardens, waiting for the cool rains and sun to wake them up. One thing we can do to reduce the spring pest population is to clean up the garden in the fall. Turning the soil and giving chickens or hogs access can reduce the pest population for the following spring.

Some of the most prevalent garden pests in the spring include:  aphids, asparagus beetles, cabbage worms, cutworms, slugs and snails, flea beetles, and leaf miners.

Diseases are often spread in the windy, rainy weather of spring. Bacteria and funguses are spread by the weather, bugs, and humans. Pruning in early spring can spread disease throughout orchards and berry patches. Pruning is best done in late winter before the weather warms.

The four spring diseases to watch out for: rust, fire blight, leaf spots, and early blight.

Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.

Pests and Diseases to Watch Out for This Spring