How Can I Prevent Fungal Diseases In My Garden?

Do you follow good sanitation practices in your garden?

Are you using the right amount of fertilizer?

Do you inspect seedlings for diseases before buying them?

Do you allow the soil to warm up before planting?

Do you practice crop rotation if you're growing vegetables?

Do you water your garden early in the morning?

Do you use mulch in your garden?

Did you provide good air circulation around your plants?

Do you keep an eye on insect pests on your plants?

This is important in all parts of your garden, but it is crucial in a vegetable garden. Good sanitation includes picking up plant debris, trimming away dying or unhealthy stems and branches, and keeping weeds to a minimum. Foliage or stems leftover from diseased plants can result in having to deal with those same diseases or pests next year.

Over-fertilizing often leads to problems, because then your plants put out lots of weak, fresh growth that is attractive to pests and diseases. The right amount of organic fertilizer (or regular applications of compost or composted manure) will help your plants stay healthy. Healthy plants are better able to fend off diseases.

This is an easy way to keep diseases out of your garden: make sure you're not bringing them in with new plants. Before you bring plants home from the nursery, check to make sure they're healthy. If you see signs of fungal diseases or insects, or lots of yellowing or wilting foliage, take a pass.

When planted in cool soil, plants can become stressed, which makes them less able to fight off diseases. The easy way to eliminate this problem is to ensure that you're not planting until the soil has warmed in the spring.

Crop rotation is probably the number one way to prevent diseases in your vegetable garden. Planting vegetables in the same spots year after year increases the chances of fungal disease infections. It's helpful to know the different vegetable families, and how to rotate them in your garden.

Many fungal diseases need damp, cool environments to thrive. So if our plants' foliage is wet overnight, that gives these diseases a chance to infect them. The easiest way to prevent this is to water as early in the day as possible so that your plants can dry off before nightfall.

Mulches are useful for maintaining soil moisture and keeping weeds down, but they are also helpful in keeping our gardens disease-free. Mulch prevents soil that is infested with soil-borne fungi from splashing up onto the plants' foliage.

Fungal diseases like powdery mildew and black spot are more likely to be a problem if your plants have poor air circulation. If they are planted too closely together, or against a wall, they don't get enough airflow. This stagnant environment is perfect for many fungal diseases. Try pruning out excess branches, dividing large plants, or transplanting problem plants to an area with better air circulation.

Planting in raised beds has two big advantages to in-ground planting. They have better drainage so they do not hold too much water for too long, which can easily lead to fungal growth. They are also higher off the ground and so usually get better air circulation which inhibits fungal spores from starting.

Insect pests, like aphids, are a double-threat because they transmit diseases between plants. Stay vigilant, and try to eliminate insect pests as soon as you see them.