Garden Pests

Tomato leaf spots Diseases

Tomatoes leaf spots will be starting on the lower leaves and working their way up the plant. The main cause of this is fungi causing Septoria, early blight, and late blight. These are worse in wet, humid weather.

Septoria leaf spot on tomato leaves
Septoria leaf spot

The best cure is prevention. The spores exist in the soil and are splashed on the lower leaves first. So, rotating your plants from one side of the garden to the other helps. Pruning off the lower leaves and growing the plants off the ground in cages or stakes.

The best help I have found is growing the tomatoes with a mulch like plastic, fabric, or organic (old rotten hay or straw). Use grass clippings sparsely for they tend to mat down and get hot if used too thickly. If you have treated the grass with an herbicide, do not use it.

Do not spray the plant with overhead sprinklers. Try to use a form of drip irrigation so the leaves do not get wet.

You can regularly use an all-purpose garden fungicide to prevent non-affected leaves from infection.

Garden Pests

Tents of Caterpillars

I am noticing tents of caterpillars in fruit trees and other trees now. The adult moth lays eggs in a crotch of trees and the little caterpillars start spinning a web around the congregation. As they grow the tent becomes larger. As the caterpillars start to feed, they come back to their nest for protection. When it is cold or wet, they stay in their nest to keep warm.

For large trees will recover, smaller trees do not respond well to this threat. Remove the tent with your hand or stick in the early morning. If this method is to “gross”, fill a sprayer with soapy water or insecticide and with the nozzle poke a hole into it and spray.

Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth

A way to prevent this pest is to keep your bird feeders filled, the caterpillars are a delicacy to the birds.

Garden Pests

Bedstraw

A square stem weed is popping up (seemly overnight) in gardens and flowerbeds and shady areas around the yard. It is called bedstraw or catchweed. When you touch the weed, it feels sticky. This is because of the little Velcro-like hairs covering the plant. It clings to clothing and pets especially the seeds bringing them into the house.

Most “weeds” have a history of use which is forgotten in modern times. Early settlers used this weed to fill mattress pads thus the name bedstraw. Native Americans used this weed as a poultice for relieving insect bites and poison ivy. Apparently, horses, geese, and cattle love the stuff. Maybe that is why you do not find this weed in pastures.

One plant produces up to 400 seeds and remains viable for up to 4 years. Bedstraw can be easily pulled or even raked. 2,4-D easily kills it.