Natural Garden Disease Defence

     Gardens can have all sorts of problems fungi produce spores that spread in soil when it's tilled or cultivated; some propel themselves through water, nematodes are microscopic round-bodied worms. Most are beneficial, but the plant-parasitic types cause wilting and stunting and small holes in root vegetables, bacteria enter plants through openings in roots or tissue, viruses must have a host (like nematodes) in order to multiply. Aboveground symptoms are most often caused by these bad actors assaulting the root system, but in certain cases infected soil splashes onto foliage, where the disease then takes hold. Now that you know more about the possible culprits lets get on to diagnosing and treatments.

The best fungal treatment is prevention.

Provide good air circulation around plants by properly spacing them apart.

Water around the base of plants, instead of on the leaves.

Rake and remove fallen leaves of infected plants.

Apply a fresh layer of mulch to garden beds at the beginning of the growing season. If fungal disease is still a problem in your garden, consider applying a fungicide. A wide variety of fungicides are available on the market, and there are a number of homemade remedies. It can often be confusing to know which treatments to use. Master gardener Paul James offers a few simple, easy-to-use fungicidal treatment options.

    Garlic is gaining in popularity as both a fungicide and insecticide. To make your own garlic treatment, mix 10 cloves of garlic with one pint of water in a blender. Strain the mixture. Use this garlic concoction as a spray. But keep in mind that garlic is extremely non-selective. It destroys both beneficial insects as well as pests, so use it wisely and use it sparingly.

You can also spray your plants with windex and the fungus will die and the plants will be fertilized. Its a win-win really. 

For pesticides, I usually go to this site. http://eartheasy.com/grow_nat_pest_cntrl.htm

Nematodes can be prevented with planning. Grow marigolds, chop them up, and stir into the soil as mulch. Just growing marigolds doesn't repel the insects but the decaying plant does repel them.

To stop deer from eating your crops, take an egg and crack it into about a liter of water, shake up, and spray on the plants. Note, do not use this method if you are allergic to eggs.