Use Floating Row Covers to Grow Better Cucumbers Without Spraying
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Article by: Terry Cunning Cucumbers are easy to grow , Teak Outdoor Furniture in a home , Winter Injury to Trees garden except for one problem. They are especially susceptible to one disease. , Annuals For Shade Perhaps you've seen it in your own garden. , Things You Should Consider When Buying Your First Leaf Blower You have planted a row of seeds , How Do I Keep My Pond From Turning Green? and they have sprouted nicely and have grown into long vines that have spread out over the garden , Japanese Lights Bring Tranquillity to your Garden and Peace to your Body and Mind and turned themselves into a big cucumber patch. You are beginning to anticipate having a bountiful harvest of cucumbers for salads , Growing Orchids as House Plants and maybe even pickles. But then one evening when you are walking through the garden , Artificial Flowers – Are They A Solution? you notice that one cucumber plant , How To Plan A Garden has wilted. Your first thought is that maybe one of the kids, or maybe even the dog, might have been running through the garden , Mix Perennials into Your for Staying Power and maybe they broke the plant , Finding the Right Landscaping Company off at the base of the stem. So you get down on your knees and check things out. Nope. The stem is intact. Then you think that maybe the plant , Save On Outdoor Lighting And Think Solar Lights needs water, , Growing Tomatoes – A Hobby for Everyone but if that is so then why aren't all the other cucumber plants , How to Spring Flower Bulbs surrounding it wilted too? Then you notice a few little striped or spotted bugs flying around, especially near the blossoms of the plant, , Relaxation in the Garden Starts with a Hammock and then you realize what has happened. All those little bugs are cucumber beetles. They have infected your cucumber plants , Super Foods from Home Vegetable Gardens with a disease , Canvas Gazebos and Gazebo Kits called cucumber wilt. What can you do to control it? Cucumber wilt is a bacterial disease , Perfume Your Garden and Home with Gardenias that is carried by the cucumber beetle. If you find an infected plant , Hydrangea Forever & Ever Red in your garden , ing Soil the best thing to do is just to pull it out of the ground and burn it. At this stage, after one plant , Wicker Patio Furniture - Buying and Maintenance Tips has wilted, the cucumber beetles have no doubt had a chance to spread through all the other plants , Why Teak Coffee Tables Are Essential For Your Outdoor Space in your garden. , Winter Injury to Trees If you have a really healthy garden , Ornamental Aluminum Fences you might still be safe , Gardening - Growing Herbs In Containers because many of your plants , Growing Orchids as House s could be strong enough to resist the disease , Gardening - Growing Herbs In Containers and still produce a crop. If this seems to be the case, then the easiest thing to do is just to do nothing. But if your garden , Peonies 'Krinkled White' and 'Vivid Rose' is the least bit stressed or out of balance and you can see cucumber beetles zooming around everywhere then the wilt will probably spread and kill almost all the cucumber plants. , Growing Tomatoes – A Hobby for Everyone The next thing you can do is to try to kill as many of the cucumber beetles as possible. Insecticides containing rotenone or pyrethrins are probably the easiest and safest solution and they do work, but it will still be a continuing battle to save , Ornamental Aluminum Fences the rest of your plants , How To Plan A Garden long enough to get a harvest. Planning ahead and use floating row covers. There is a simple way to raise cucumbers without having to worry about cucumber beetles and cucumber wilt. Just put a barrier over your plants , Grow Herbs in your Garden for Pleasure and Profit so that the beetles will never have a chance to touch them. The easiest way to do this is to use floating row covers. Floating row covers are big sheets of spun-bonded polypropylene fabric that are light , Winter Injury to Trees enough and thin enough to lay over the plants. , Garden Folklore: s Thrive in Good Company Enough light , Tulip Delivery and rain can pass through the fabric so the cucumber plants , Growing Clematis can grow , How Do I Keep My Pond From Turning Green? until they are ready to blossom without ever being molested by a cucumber beetle or by being sprayed with and insecticide. When the blossoms appear, just remove the cover so that pollination can take place. , Teak Garden Furniture: A Natural Extension of the Home If there are any cucumber beetles around when you remove the cover it will probably take them some time to find the plants , Growing Orchids as House s and then some more time to do any real damage. By then you will be picking cucumbers. Tips for using floating row covers. You should put the row covers on the same day you plant , Tips on Outdoor Patio Heaters your cucumber seeds. , Riding Lawnmower - Choices are Wide Open Don't let the seeds , Mix Perennials into Your Garden for Staying Power sprout uncovered because the beetles might find the tiny seedlings then and all will be lost. You should also place , How to Choose Between Goldfish and KOI the covers so that they have room , Starting With Cuttings to puff up after the plants , CO2 for 'Free' start to grow , Winter Injury to Trees under them. Don't put them on tight. Make sure to seal the edges completely with dirt all the way around. This is the only way. Don't use rocks or garden , Hydrangea Forever & Ever Red staples because these things still leave openings where a bug can crawl through. Copyright 2006, Terry CunningTerry Cunning is a gardener from Pennsylvania. For more information , Best Perennial Plants for Summer Color about organic gardening , Artificial Flowers – Are They A Solution? please visit his website at http://www.gardening.organiccavalcade.com/ |
  
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