IN THE GARDEN
Now’s the time for garden diseases
L
ate summer is, particularly with this year's
erratic rainfall and
extreme heat, prime time for
diseases in your vegetable
garden.
However, as experienced
smallholders know, prevention is better than cure and
you need to think holistically
in managing your veggie
patch.
Diseases arise when there are
three components present: a
susceptible host plant, a
pathogen capable of causing
disease and an environment
conducive to disease.
Part of your holistic management involves your regular
attention to the garden. Walk
through the garden, particularly at this time of the year, to
identify problems, so that
swift counteractive measures
can catch the problem before
it has a chance to spread.
An integrated approach
also combines alternative
control methods that help
minimises the use of chemicals, thereby reducing health,
environmental and economic
risks.
In terms of the plants, choose
vegetables according to the
season and location, as crops
grown in an unfavourable
season or incorrect location
are more vulnerable to
diseases.
QUIRKY
Try to ensure that your seed
and seedlings are disease free
when planting them. Use
disease-resistant cultivars that
are tolerant of existing soil or
site conditions.
Plant diseases are caused by
fungi, bacteria and viruses,
and most garden diseases are
caused by fungi, which are
parasitic plants that can attack
all parts of the plant. Although
very small, they can some-
times be visible. Some fungi
only attack one variety of
plant, while others can attack
a wide range of vegetables.
Fungal spores are very tiny
bodies what are easily
distributed by wind, water,
insects and other agencies
such as clothes.
Symptoms of fungal infection
are the appearance of, for
example, a powdery sub-
cutting off the flow instantaneously.
Thus your pump switches on
only once, at the start of the
filling cycle, switching off
immediately the pressure in
the system increases as the
flow is cut off.
The height of the cup
mechanism can be adjusted
up or down, so you can
control how much water
you'd like to use each flush,
meaning you don't need to
have bricks or water-filled
bottles in your cistern to
reduce the volume used.
K In exactly the same way,
the same saving in electricity
will also happen if you fix
dripping taps or leaky
pipework in your plumbing,
not to mention the water
saving you will enjoy.
ENERGY SAVING
From page 36
“base” (ie, its roof) attached
to a lever which switches off
the flow of the water.
As the water fills, it comes in
at full pressure and soon
reaches the lip of the outer
cup, pouring into it. The inner
cup, which is inverted and
thus filled with air, thus starts
rapidly to float and as it floats
upwards its lever quickly seals
the washer in the valve,
38
www.sasmallholder.co.za
Continued on page 41