Pests in the garden

Credit: Carolyn Herriot

It’s not always smooth sailing in the garden, especially when it’s unseasonably wet and cool. This aggravates problems with slugs and rust, both of which thrive and spread in moist conditions.

Above: If rust establishes on plants (hollyhocks, garlic and onions are especially prone) it’s best to remove all affected leaves. Spore-borne diseases, such as rust, can be prevented by not allowing spores to spread around the garden.

Slugs can be more than a nuisance by doing a lot of damage. After noticing they had decimated half my potato patch, (Photo potatoes) I went out at dusk with a bucket to collect them. I removed 40 big black slimy slugs in two nights and saved the rest of the potatoes. Prevention is worth a pound of potatoes!

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