Why chemicals are sometimes needed in the garden (responsibly)
Spring is in full swing. Plants are blooming and growing, and it’s a beautiful time of the year. It's easy to garden in the spring. The cooler temperatures and frequent rains create maintenance-free growing conditions, but as we head toward summer, there will be challenges for certain plants.
Insects truly live in their own world. Their overall purpose is to create a sustainable environment. The most important job of many insects is the pollination of flowers. Pollination is necessary for plants to reproduce; for the species to survive. The survival of plants is necessary as a food source for both humans and wildlife. This is how plants, insects and animals are all connected.
Since insects are needed for plants to survive, we need to be careful how we use insecticides. In past generations, it was acceptable to spray insecticides throughout the landscape to stop bugs in their tracks before they could do any damage. The problem with this approach was that it killed too many bugs. Good bugs were being harmed and killed because there might be a bad bug.
Water and sun: Here's how to stop your flowers from wilting
Weeds: How to prevent spring weeds in your lawn from returning next year
You should never use an insecticide unless you are targeting a specific harmful insect, and even then, you should determine and consider if the plant that is hosting the insect will be seriously damaged by the insect. Many insects will chew some holes in leaves. This might irritate perfectionist gardeners, but the holes do not hurt the plant.
As the humidity rises In the upcoming weeks, certain plants will become vulnerable to plant diseases or leaf fungus. Again, this is not an issue with most plants. Plant diseases are very specific to certain plants. For instance, roses are vulnerable to a disease called "black spot." In the same garden as the roses, you might also have hydrangeas, but hydrangeas will not get black spot.
Just like most insects, the majority of plant diseases aren't lethal. They can certainly make a plant look bad, but rarely will the plant die. Plant diseases are preventable with fungicides. The purpose of most fungicides is to prevent the disease, but once a plant develops a disease on the foliage, the fungicide will only keep it from spreading.
Flowering trees: These would add a pop of color to your budding yard 🌸
If you had disease problems in the past on plants in your garden, they will most likely return this season. You can avoid those problems by starting a spray routine now to keep the plants disease-free. A good multi-purpose fungicide to use is called Daconil. This is available in Fertilome’s Broad Spectrum Disease Control.
Some of you reading this article are going to be frustrated with me for advocating the use of chemicals. The use of chemicals is a big part of what I like to call the "politics of gardening." For some there is no compromise when it comes to chemicals. I believe there is.
There are situations when an insecticide or fungicide might be needed to protect the health of a plant. In these situations, the products need to be used responsibly. This would start by having the problem properly diagnosed by an expert at a garden center. This expert should then recommend the safest product with an explanation on how to use it.
This is a great service offered by most independent garden stores. You will not get this service at a big box store. There you will be on your own, not knowing if you have the right product, and with no advice on how to use it. I am opposed to chemicals being sold this way. When it comes to the use of chemicals, safety comes with knowledge.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why insecticides, chemicals are sometimes needed in the garden
