| Show eliminate garden pests now insects have always been the chief enemies of man and this rule is no exception in the victory garden stresses dr arvil L stark extension service victory garden specialist who a ids aids that the inexperienced gardener will be overwhelmed with the lon long glist list of pests that attack vegetable crops in utah I 1 in this state from 25 to 35 pests are listed as being serious enemies of crops but all of these pests never occur in the same locality nor in an individual gari den two or three pests often become serious in the garden plots while others never reach the point where they cause worry for the gardener insecticides provide the most common means of controlling the common garden pests hand pick ing offers another method of controlling larger insects such as the tomato horn worm squash bug and colorado potato beetle keeping down the weeds around the garden is another effective control method for most garden pests however a good duster or sprayer should be used in applying insecticide to the crops for the control of insects he points out for some of the smaller insects this provides the only method of control and hand picking is of course out of the question an early pest on spring crops is is the flea beetle which is troublesome on tomatoes potatoes and beets it is a small shiny black bug that moves by quick jerky movements 7 and is usually found on the outside of leaves rotenone dust consisting of 5 per cent rotenone is effective in control and care should be taken to apply dust to the underside of the leaves another pest that is very bothersome I 1 on such crops as peas cab bage cauliflower and sometimes beans and other vegetables vegetal etab is the common aphid or plant lou louse this 1 l a is a little soft bodied gr green e en 0 or rl brown bug which congregates in large colonies usually at the top of the growing portion of the plant or in the case of cabbage in the center of the head there are several materials used in control of these plant lice but the one which will work with most vegetables is nicotine sulfate fresh 4 per cent nicotine dust is very effective in control and can be purchased ready made if the home gardener wishes to make it up himself all that is necessary is the addition of one ounce or five teaspoons of nicotine sulfate or black leaf forty to one pound of hydrated lime put the sifted lime in a tight can I 1 and add several stones to aid in mixing and then pour the nicotine sulfate over the lime shake and rotate the can until the material is thoroughly mixed A liquid spray consisting of one tablespoon of nicotine sulfate dissolved in one gallon of soapy water in w which h I 1 e h two level tablespoons of soap flakes have been mixed is another effective measure for controlling plant lice A 75 per cent rotenone dust is more satisfactory than the nicotine compound for controlling plant lice on cauliflower or cabbage dr stark concludes |
