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10 Ways to Eliminate Garden Pests

from: Phil Allen

Garden pests are not hard to get rid of with a few simple precautions. Some successful gardeners use covered frames, which are wooden boxes covered with glass, cloth, mosquito netting or mosquito wire. Glass and cloth coverings protect your plants from heat and cold. They also allow you to plant earlier than normal. Covered frames are used for vine veggies like cucumbers and melons.


You can protect other plants from pests like cut-worms by using a stiff collar. Collars are made of tin, cardboard or tar paper. Just place the collar around the stem of the plant for protection. It will dig into the soil about an inch or so to make it sturdy.

You can also spray your garden with poisons designed to kill pests. For this method, you'll need a sprayer. The best option is a compressed-air, hand-powered sprayer. You'll want to be sure it has a non-cloggable mist-making nozzle for easy cleanup.

For more extensive work, you'll want to get a barrel pump. Barrel pumps have wheels, making them easily mobile.

Be sure to get a brass sprayer or pump. Brass lasts longer and holds up better than cheaper metals. The cheaper ones tend to corrode easily from contact with chemicals.

High trees and vines are easy to spray with extension rods. You can buy these rods to fit almost any sprayer or pump.

If you don't have a sprayer, you can use a hand-syringe to apply the poison. Of course, a sprayer is a great investment. You can do more in less time, freeing you to enjoy other gardening work as well.

Tools for Harvesting

After the hard work of planting your garden, harvest day will arrive! Most small gardens can be harvested with a spade, hoe, or spading-fork. Larger gardens can be harvested with specialty tools that make your job a bit easier.

Use an onion harvester attachment with your double wheel hoe. This makes it easy to dig up veggies such as onions, beets, turnips and even spinach.

A hand plow helps loosen deep-growing vegetables like carrots and parsnips. Just run the hand-plow on either side of the row of veggies, and they'll come up easily.

Fruit trees can be harvested with a long handled, wire-fingered fruit picker.

Pruning Tools

In most cases, where pruning is done on a regular basis, a good jack-knife and a pair of pruning shears work nicely as pruning tools.

Plant Supports

Tidy up the look of your garden with stakes, trellises and wires. These supports are easy and convenient to use. With good storage, they'll last for several years.

Be sure to learn about the different gardening tools available. The right tools make gardening very enjoyable. Invest a little money up front, and your tools will last for several years. With each season, you can add another good tool and soon have a complete set to call your own. Remember, good tools make your gardening experience both profitable and fun!

Phil Allen has been writing for the internet for several years and enjoys his family and gardening. Find out more of his secrets at Backyard-Gardens.com and Yardbeauty.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phil_Allen

 

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