Dealing with Garden Pests

Gardening in containers elimintaes a lot of the problems of traditional gardening: no weeding, no moles, no grubs. A couple of problems I did have last year were squash borers and powdery mildew. This year I’m trying an old prevention for the squash borers – paper collars around the stem when planted. You can see the one on this little squash plant. I’ll report on how this works later in the season.

The squash also had powdery mildew. Those squash were a problem but we love them so much, I’m trying again this year. I am going to tackle the mildew with Neem Oil before it gets started. I’m doing this on my Bee Balm and Lilacs too. It is one of the few chemicals allowed for organic gardens and is easy to find at most garden centers. A bottle goes a long way because it doesn't take much to make a gallon. A plastic spray bottle is perfect fro application.