Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Garden Concerns
So what do you do if you cannot see any pests or specific disease
patterns? What else could the problem be?
The most common problems in a vegetable garden are often
caused by:
•
Overwatering
•
Underwatering
•
Inadequate nutrients in the soil
•
Poor drainage
•
Poor air circulation
If a plant is stressed by under- or overwatering or lack of nutri-
ents, it will be more susceptible to pests and disease. Trying to com-
bat the problem early is the best plan of action. Plants are great at
letting us know there is a problem. The following section details
some common concerns and what you can do in your garden plan-
ning and plant maintenance to help the situation.
Standing Rainwater
This means the water is not able to penetrate into the soil. This
could be caused by poor soil structure or a hard clay soil. A short-
term solution is to hoe the garden area just before a rain to break up
the hard surface. This will allow the water to be absorbed more eas-
ily into the soil. In the fall or spring, add in more compost or aged
animal manure to improve the soil. Doing this every year is a long-
term solution to a poor drainage problem.
