Prevention better than cure

Clean your tools well and practise good plant husbandry

WHETHER you are dealing with pests or diseases, there are similar rules that apply to both.

Make sure equipment is kept sharp and clean, especially cutting tools that have been used to remove diseased plant material or pots that have held plants and compost you fear might have been contaminated by pests or diseases.

We aim to grow our plants as organically as possible and only resort to chemicals in worst-case scenarios. This style of gardening doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I would urge anyone who does use chemicals to do so sparingly, sticking to the manufacturers’ instructions.

Never use pesticides on plants in flower or trees in blossom because you will kill pollinating insects, not to mention the lacewing flies, wasps, ground beetles, ladybirds and hoverflies that will help you in the fight against insect pests.

Your garden is a natural habitat and if you strip away one layer of nature – ‘unwanted’ insects, for example – the birds, bats and other mammals that feed on them won’t pop by and your patch will be all the poorer for it.