The other day while poking around a Delicata squash plant looking for blossoms, I found a good-sized colony of black bean aphids on the undersides of some leaves. Those aphids are the hardest of all to control.
I am using a pyrethrin soap spray and jet sprays of water to treat. But this is a good reminder to inspect your vegetable crops weekly for summer pests. Here’s what to consider:
SLUGS AND SNAILS: These guys have to be the number one summer pest for coastal gardens because the climate is wet and foggy most of the time. Just one slimy creature can quickly decimate a new planting of greens overnight. Baits work best. The organic type baits containing iron phosphate work especially well, but there is a caveat. You must begin baiting before planting. When preparing planting beds, sprinkle bait after making the bed. Wait a few days, then plant and bait again. These steps are necessary because when given a choice between a succulent transplant or a crumble of bait, the slug/snail will choose the transplant first. When planting in containers, be sure to inspect under the pots. That is where slugs hide during the day. Then bait and plant.
BRASSICAS: Since summers on the coast tend to be cool and foggy, growing broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower and the like is fairly easy. Except certain pests can make things difficult. Green cabbage worms, gray aphids and root maggots are pests that can do considerable damage to these crops. After planting out starts, cover with row cover to make sure these critters do not take hold. Spraying with neem oil or insecticidal soap will help keep aphids away. Thick rice straw mulch will help keep root maggots from taking hold. Bacillus thuringiensis will kill green cabbage worms. All sprays are organic.
CARROTS: Carrots love the warm days of summer and so does the carrot rust fly. The flies smell the carrot foliage, then deposit eggs in the soil near the roots. The best way to prevent the worms from ruining roots is to mulch thickly with rice straw. Start mulching when the tops are about three inches tall. Keep mulching thickly as roots mature.
INSPECTIONS: There are many natural ways to control pests in the garden, but they won’t work well if weekly inspections are not made. Attacking the problem before it gets out of hand is the key. Now is the time to get started.
Terry Kramer is the retired site manager for the Humboldt Botanical Garden and a trained horticulturist and journalist. She has been writing a garden column for the Times-Standard since 1982. She currently runs a gardening consulting business. Contact her at 707-834-2661 or terrykramer90@gmail.com.